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U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says a military aid package to Arab allies is for their own security and is not aimed at destabilising the region. Rice and U.S. Secretary of Defence Robert Gates are in Egypt to meet with Arab leaders and win support for the Iraqi government. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defence Secretary Robert Gates are in the Middle East to push Arab allies to do more to stabilise Iraq and counter the rise of Iran. It's a rare joint visit by the pair who arrived in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh with promises of tens of billions of dollars of military aid for America's Arab allies. They said the aid would help counter al Qaeda, Hezbollah, Syria and Iran. Support for a unified Iraq, the challenges facing Lebanon, and the future for a two state Palestine and Israel were all up for discussion. Rice welcomed the backing of most Arab countries to a special international conference on Middle East peace planned for later this year. Before she left on her trip Rice announced a military aid package to Egypt of $13 billion over 10 years, the same level as for at least the last six years, but an increase of about 25 percent for Israel -- to $30 billion over the next 10 years. Defence officials said Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states would get at least $20 billion in arms sales and other help over the next decade but final figures have not been agreed yet. Iran has criticised the package, accusing the United States of trying to create fear and mistrust in the Middle East and of aiming to destabilise the region. At a joint news conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit, Rice strongly denied that the aid was directed at any country. The United States was determined, she said, to assure its allies the U.S. was going to be reliable in helping them meet their security needs. "We have a lot of interests in common in the fight against terrorism and extremism in protecting the gains of peace processes of the past and in extending those gains to peace processes of the future," she said. In her meeting with ministers from the Gulf Cooperation Council, Egypt and Jordan, Rice also discussed U.S. plans for a conference this year to revive Arab-Israeli peace hopes. She's to travel to both Israel and the Palestinian territories over the next couple of days. The visit by the U.S. Secretary of State in the region is aimed also at bolstering support for the fledgling Iraqi government. The Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said his country had been trying to find a way of uniting Iraq for a number of years.