Egypt's top military rulers held talks on Saturday with visiting U.S. chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey amid a recent row over illegal civil society funding.

The two sides discussed topics of mutual concern in the light of military relations between Cairo and Washington, Egypt's official MENA news agency reported.

Dempsey expressed the United States' keenness to support the democratic process in Egypt as well as appreciation for Egypt's military forces' role in protecting and building Egypt's entities, the report said.

In another meeting, Dempsey held talks with his Egyptian counterpart Lieutenant General Sami Anan on military cooperation.

The relations between Cairo and Washington have recently strained over the case of illegal funding of the NGOs in Egypt, in which U.S. organizations are involved. Egypt accused 43 people, including 19 Americans, of running NGOs without license or receiving funds illegally for political activities.