15 - 21 February 2001
Issue No.521
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 15 - 21 February 2001 Issue No.521 |
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Friendly signals
Egypt officially joined the Community of Sahel and Sahara States (COMESSA) this week while taking part in the African grouping's third summit. Foreign Minister Amr Moussa headed Egypt's delegation to the meeting, which opened on Monday in the Sudanese capital Khartoum. A high level of participation from African leaders was a show of confidence in the three-year-old organisation.
Also known by its Arab acronym Sin-Sad, the now 16-member COMESSA is one of Africa's newest and most ambitious sub-regional groupings. The brainchild of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, COMESSA has been viewed essentially as a political body, and not exclusively as a trade or economic grouping. The founding countries -- Burkina Faso, the Republic of Central Africa, Chad, Djibouti, Eritria, Gambia, Libya, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Sudan -- saw COMESSA not only as foundation on which to build the African common market, but as the forerunner to the African Union, a political dream that has long eluded the Organisation of African Unity (OAU).
Egypt's participation in the Khartoum summit has two salient effects: a demonstration of Egypt's interest in enforcing African ties, and the pursuit of warmer relations with both Khartoum and Tripoli. The decision to become a full member of COMESSA was a clear message to Libya that Cairo supports Tripoli's foreign policy on Africa. Relations between Cairo and Tripoli have seen some bumps in the road over the best way to administer inter-Arab relations and deal with the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Ever since the OAU decided to ignore the sanctions imposed on Tripoli a few years ago, Libya has stepped up its participation in African affairs. Egypt's seeking full entry into COMESSA is a vote of confidence for Tripoli, but also one for Khartoum, where Moussa has visited twice in the last two weeks. The increase in official visits indicates improved relations between Cairo and Khartoum, who suffered poor relations during the better part of last decade.
During his two-day stay in Khartoum, Moussa made a point of staying to attend the inauguration ceremony of recently re-elected Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir at the Sudanese Parliament. Mustafa Kamal Helmi, speaker of the Shura Council, was also present at the ceremony -- a clear show of support to President Bashir in the face of tough political opposition.
During a previous trip to Sudan last Sunday, Moussa met with his Sudanese and Libyan counterparts Mustafa Othman Ismail and Ali Al-Treikki to discuss progress on the joint Egyptian-Libyan initiative to promote civil peace in Sudan. More meetings to discuss the initiative are expected to be take place in the coming weeks in neighbouring capitals Cairo, Khartoum and Sudan -- an endeavour, diplomatic sources say, to not only encourage peace in Sudan and bolster confidence in Al-Bashir, but to enhance ties between the three countries. (See p.5)
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