Presidential Determination No. 91 - 10 -- Memorandum on the Cancellation of Egyptian Military Debt

Memorandum for the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Defense

Subject: Presidential Determination on Egyptian Foreign Military Sales (FMS) Debt

Section 592(d)(1) of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1991 (Public Law 101 - 513) (the "Act") authorizes me, notwithstanding any other provision of law, in the context of certain multilateral debt negotiations, to reduce to zero certain notes related to Egypt's FMS debt if other major holders of Egyptian military debt agree to equal or comparable reductions. I have concluded that such other creditors do not agree to comparable reductions in their military debt.

By virtue of the authority vested in me by section 592 of the Act, I hereby determine that it is essential to the national security interests of the United States to unilaterally cancel the requirement of Egypt to repay the United States for such Egyptian military debt; and that it is essential to the success of Desert Shield and to enhance peace and stability in the Middle East to reduce to zero the amounts described in section 592(e)(2) of the Act.

By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States of America, including section 592 of the Act, and section 301 of title 3 of the United States Code, I hereby delegate to the Secretary of Defense the functions under section 592(e)(2) of the Act, provided that the functions conferred by subparagraph (B) thereof shall be exercised by the Secretary of Defense in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury.

The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized and directed to publish this determination in the Federal Register.

George Bush

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 11:36 a.m., December 31, 1990]