Nancy Pelosi holds talks with Tantawi, El-Katatni
Ahram Online, Thursday 15 Mar 2012
US House minority leader in Cairo Thursday with congressional delegation to meet with Field Marshal Tantawi, members of parliament and People's Assembly speaker about US-Egyptian relations, particularly the NGO trial crisis


Nancy Pelosi, the minority leader of the US House of Representatives, has met the speaker of Egyptian People's Assembly, Saad El-Katatni, along some of members of the Egyptian parliament during a visit to Cairo Thursday.


El-Katatni discussed with Pelosi in their short meeting US funding to NGOs and the NGO trial, as well the Palestinian people's suffering from Israeli aggression.



Pelosi revealed in short statements to journalists that she seized the opportunity to congratulate El-Katatni on becoming speaker of the People's Assembly after democratic elections, and that she held important talks with El-Katatni on security, economic and democracy-related issues of concern to both countries.





Pelosi expressed hope that the aspirations of the Egyptian people voiced during the revolution would be achieved soon and that the Egyptian government would work to that end.





Ashraf Thabet, deputy speaker of the People's Assembly, stated that the MPs that attended the meeting with Pelosi demanded that the US government release Egyptian prisoners in US prisons, especially blind sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman.



Thabet added that MPs made it clear to Pelosi that the People's Assembly refuses illegal foreign funding for NGOs for political purposes and that all NGO funding should be supervised by the government and parliament.





Pelosi along with a group of congressmen also met Thursday with Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, head of the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, discussing Egypt's democratic transition, US-Egyptian relations, and the NGO trial crisis.





"What the congressional committee heard today from Field Marshal Tantawi about the transition of power to civilian government and drafting the constitution — there will be complete civilian control after drafting the constitution — made the congressionalcommittee feel optimistic," Pelosi told reporters in Cairo.


https://english.ahram.org.eg/News/36868.aspx