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Al-Ahram Weekly 18 - 24 May 2000 Issue No. 482 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 18 - 24 May 2000 Issue No. 482
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Focus Features Heritage Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters EU-Egypt military cooperation
By Amira Ibrahim
Last week's European tour of Defence Minister Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, in which he visited Britain and Germany, underlined the importance both Europe and Egypt place on collective security across the Mediterranean.
Defence Minister Tantawi briefing the president on his trip to Europe
photo: Borham El-Bagoury
The minister, who briefed President Hosni Mubarak on the results of his tour on Sunday, said that the two visits should be viewed as steps towards greater cooperation with the European Union.
In an interview with the Al-Ahram correspondent in London, Tantawi discussed his efforts to upgrade relations with Egypt's European "neighbour" states. His talks covered the development of the Egyptian military industry, cooperation in the fields of training and armament as well as the removal of World War II era land-mines from the Western Desert. Tantawi said, "We agreed to develop military cooperation in all fields and by all means, particularly in the field of training where good progress has been made over the years."
Tantawi explained that military links with Europe have a long history. Contacts with the United Kingdom are particularly deep. Tantawi pointed out, "Egyptian military officers are being trained at British military and civil institutes. In general, cooperation in the field of training provides a greater opportunity to build up professional, qualified and experienced military cadres in all fields."
While in the UK, Tantawi met with General Charles Guthrie, Chief of the Defence Staff to discuss the Bright Star exercises scheduled for 2001. "We agreed to develop the size and kinds of troops participating in joint exercises," Tantawi stated. The biennial Bright Star war games, started in 1981, take place in the Western Desert and along Egypt's Mediterranean coast. In 1999, 11 nations participated. Britain contributed 6,000 troops.
Tantawi also met with Baroness Symons, Minister of State for Defence Procurement, to discuss expanding bilateral cooperation in the defence industries. The talks, explained Tantawi, focused on developing and upgrading British technical assistance for Egyptian military industries. "Cooperation in the field of military production dates back more than 20 years. We studied what we should do together in order to develop Egypt's military industry, meet our needs and modernise Egypt's industrial base," Tantawi said. Egyptian interest in expanding technical assistance took the Tantawi mission to British Aerospace. During his visit, Tantawi was briefed about the company's warplane production activities.
British Secretary of State for Defence Geof Hoon, told Al-Ahram that the two countries were currently negotiating two memoranda of understanding. The first deals with training and the second with military industrial cooperation. According to Hoon, the memoranda will be ready for signing soon.
Outside of the specifically military agenda, Tantawi also had a diplomatic mission. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) continues to be an important issue for the Egyptian political leadership. Egypt has repeatedly called for an outright ban on weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East. Tantawi brought Egyptian concerns with him to his European talks. Hoon indicated that Britain supports the Egyptian effort to establish a nuclear weapon-free zone in the Middle East. In light of the 1995 NPT Review and Extension Conference, Hoon expressed his belief that all governments should not only commit themselves to the NPT but also ratify the convention banning the production of fissionable material.
In Germany, Tantawi met with Defence Minister Rudolph Scharping for talks on cooperation in training and armament. Tantawi also visited the Bundestag where he met with the speaker and a number of Bundestag officials. In the course of these talks, issues regarding the Arab-Israeli conflict, joint Egyptian-American regional peace efforts and the future role of Egyptian peace-keeping were raised.
