Egypt on Wednesday slammed a decision by Washington to withhold over 290 million dollars in military and economic aid to the country - reportedly due to its failure to make progress on human rights and democracy - warning the move could have "negative implications".
"The Arab Republic of Egypt regrets the decision of the United States of America to reduce some of the funds allocated under the US assistance program to Egypt," the foreign ministry said in a statement.
"Egypt sees this measure as reflecting poor judgment of the strategic relationship that binds the two countries over decades and reflects the lack of understanding of the importance of supporting the stability and success of Egypt," the foreign ministry said in a statement.
The decision could have "negative implications" on achieving common goals and interests between the two countries, the statement added.
The statement came after Reuters and Associated Press news agencies on Tuesday cited anonymous officials that Washington had decided to deny Egypt 95.7 million dollars in aid and to delay a further 195 million dollars.
The aid cut by US secretary of state Rex Tillerson included 65.7 million dollars of military assistance and 30 million dollars in economic aid that has been on hold since the 2014 financial year, AP quoted unnamed officials as saying.
Egypt cancelled a meeting on Wednesday in Cairo between its top diplomat, foreign minister Sameh Shoukry, Whitehouse adviser Jared Kushner and U.S. officials, apparently in protest at the reported US move.
Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was however still slated to meet the US delegation later on Wednesday, according to reports.
The Trump administration's move came after Sisi in June allowed a controversial law regulating NGOs law to go into effect despite earlier assurances it would not pass, angering US officials, according to unnamed sources cited by Reuters and AP.
Human rights groups and activists have said that the new law - widely seen as part of a growing crackdown on dissent - effectively bans their work and makes it harder for charities to operate.
Egypt receives 1.3 billion dollars annually in military aid from the US and nearly 250 million dollars in economic assistance, according to state-run daily Al-Ahram.
