Hillary Clinton urges full civilian rule in Egypt

Protest crowds have greeted US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who arrived in Cairo on Saturday to meet Egypt's newly elected president, Mohamed Morsi, and support the country's "full transition" to civilian rule. 

Clinton's discussions with Morsi on Saturday, part of a two-day visit, concentrated on the domestic political deadlock and economic development. She pledged hundreds of millions of dollars in debt relief, private investment and job creation funds - money the US administration had earlier promised.

The top American diplomat said her country's "shared strategic interests far outnumber our differences" with Egypt.

"I have come to Cairo to re-affirm the strong support of the United States for the Egyptian people and their democratic transition," Clinton said at a joint news conference with Foreign Minister Mohammed Amr.

"We want to be a good partner and we want to support the democracy that has been achieved by the courage and sacrifice of the Egyptian people," she said. "Democracy is hard."

Clinton is scheduled to meet the head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, on Sunday.

The SCAF ran Egypt's affairs after the toppling of President Hosni Mubarak in February 2011 and is locked in a political struggle with Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood over how to direct the transition.

Clinton will also see other senior government officials, civil society and business leaders in Cairo, as well as in the country's second city, Alexandria. Religious freedoms for the Coptic minority and women's rights are also on her agenda.

Clinton praised the role played by the military, but said she would make clear to Field Marshal Tantawi that the US supports the return of the armed forced "to a purely military role".

The secretary of state also encouraged President Mursi to live up to his promises to protect the rights of women and minorities, and to preserve the peace treaty with Israel.

Clinton arrived in Egypt from a week-long trip to Asia, and will later visit Israel.

The US has been allied with Egypt since the country signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1979 and supplies $1.5bn every year in aid, most of which goes to the military. Only occasionally did successive US governments speak out on human rights abuses under Mubarak's government, which included restrictions on freedom of speech and assembly and the oppression of the Brotherhood.