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Al-Ahram Weekly 7 - 13 September 2000 Issue No. 498 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 7 - 13 September 2000 Issue No. 498
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Mending fences
By Dina EzzatLast week seemed to be Arab affairs week for Egypt. In addition to taking part in the regular council of foreign affairs for the Arab League, with all its side meetings, Egypt also had sessions for a joint ministerial committee with Sudan, and welcomed the new Somali president.
However, despite the many meetings, there seems to have been little progress in Egypt's relations with other Arab countries -- especially when compared with positive developments late last year. In 1999, Egypt improved its ties with Sudan, established a limited working relationship with Iraq and minimised the friction in its dealings with Syria.
Nonetheless, an upbeat mood characterised the press conference held by Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa and his Sudanese counterpart Mustafa Othman Ismail following their meetings on Saturday. During this event, the diplomats announced the approval by their joint committee of a number of agreements and protocols providing for closer economic cooperation. Likewise successful were their discussions on the joint Egyptian-Libyan initiative for national reconciliation in Sudan.
"We are very keen to implement all that has been agreed upon [in this committee] so that significant progress might be made [in relations] between the two brotherly peoples in the southern and northern parts of the Nile Valley," Moussa said.
Such sentiments were echoed by members of the committee, both Egyptian and Sudanese, who indicated their eagerness to "make up" for the previous decade in which relations were strained. An Egyptian diplomatic source suggested this trend began "late last year when Sudan made enough real signals that it was ready to work for improved ties."
According to both Moussa and Ismail, efforts to further improve relations are supported by the clear directives of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and his Sudanese counterpart Omar El-Bashir.
Meanwhile, on the Iraqi front, Egypt began last year to move cautiously towards improving economic relations. Political ties, it seems, are still on hold for the time being. Relations with Iraq have been strained since its invasion of Kuwait in 1990 and Egypt's subsequent participation in the US-led campaign that liberated Kuwait in 1991.
Late last week, Iraqi Minister of Trade Mahdi Saleh was in Cairo for extensive talks with top Egyptian officials including Prime Minister Atef Ebeid and Foreign Minister Moussa. Saleh's talks emphasised the already established fact that Egypt is not ready to fast-track its political relations with Iraq. According to Iraqi sources, Egypt is still refusing to respond to long standing requests from Baghdad that seem to indicate its interest in a political rapprochement.
Egypt, sources argue, still finds it prudent to be cautious in its interactions with Baghdad. "The simple fact is that most Arab countries are unwilling to move towards improving ties with the Iraqi regime," said another diplomatic source. Driving the point home, he said, "Expecting Egypt to take the lead is one thing. Expecting it to ignore the clear regional, let alone international, facts is another altogether."
Sensitivities surrounding the Iraq issue, viewed by many as the biggest problem facing the Arab world, came to the fore at the meeting of foreign ministers in the Arab League. That the issue is so delicate also serves to highlight the lack of progress Egypt has made on this track.
"Look at us. We, the foreign ministers of Arab countries, are standing here to talk about our support for Arab and Palestinian rights in Jerusalem -- a matter that all Arab countries agree on. Yet, we are ignoring the suffering of the victims of the terrible human tragedy in Iraq," criticised Libyan Minister Ali El-Trikki who headed his country's delegation to the Arab League meetings.
El-Trikki's proposal that the council dedicate a session to discussing the Iraqi issue fell on deaf ears. "Instead of encouraging the council to consider the idea, Arab League Secretary-General Esmat Abdel-Meguid entered into a heated exchange with Iraqi Foregin Minister Said El-Sahhaf that only ended when Yemeni Foreign Minister Abdel-Qadar Bagamal asked everybody to bring the discussion to an end," commented one Arab diplomat.
Egyptian officials responded saying that since an Arab summit is expected to meet early next month, following the recommendation by the Arab League, the issue of Iraq would be best discussed in that forum.
So, Foreign Minister Moussa this week did not hesitate to strongly reiterate Egypt's sympathy for the plight of the Iraqi people and the right of the Iraqi government to obtain international recognition for its efforts in responding to UN resolutions for disarmament. Moussa also met with Magid El-Shahin, the Kuwaiti Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, to discuss the potential Arab summit. But, beyond this, Iraq -- the stability of which he says is a key issue for regional stability -- did not seem to be consuming much of his agenda.
Egypt's top diplomat seemed to be more concerned with containing any potential misunderstanding by Syria regarding Egypt's ideas for a possible "semi-final" Palestinian-Israeli agreement.
A Syrian diplomat told Al-Ahram Weekly that after an hour-long tête-à-tête between Moussa and his Syrian counterpart, Farouq El-Sharaa, on the eve of the Arab League meeting, that Damascus is "more than keen" to avoid exacerbating the differences it had with Egypt during the past year with regards to Cairo's approach on the Arab-Israeli peace settlement.
Foreign Minister Moussa gave a high priority to a meeting that aimed at showing solidarity with Somali's newly-elected President Abdel-Qassem Salad Hussein. Somalia's new leader was in Cairo to address the Arab League council about the successful reconciliation efforts in his country which Dijbouti helped to facilitate. After the meeting Moussa told reporters that Egypt is pleased with the developments in Somalia and will endeavour to contact the Somali factions opposing their country's recent peace deal.
