Return to Iraq
PRESIDENT Hosni Mubarak has announced the nomination of Sherif Shahin as Egypt's new ambassador to Iraq. Currently serving as Egyptian ambassador to Zambia, Shahin is expected to arrive in the Iraqi capital within a few months following the finalisation of logistic and security arrangements. The selection of Shahin comes in line with a declared Egyptian intention to assume a growing role on the Iraqi scene ahead of the expected withdrawal of US troops. Earlier this month, Mubarak and US President Barack Obama discussed Arab support for Iraq during the visit of the US president to Cairo. Shahin will be the first high-level diplomat to serve in the Iraqi capital following the kidnapping and mysterious disappearance of Ihab El-Sherif, head of the Egyptian diplomatic mission in Iraq in 2005. Back then, Egyptian officials had suggested that El-Sherif was abducted and killed by Iranian agents who aimed to undercut the Arab presence in Iraq. Today, the same officials say that Egypt is returning to Iraq partially to counter massive Iranian influence on a largely Shia Arab country. They also say it is part and parcel of a planned Egyptian scheme to upgrade its diplomatic performance. The announcement of the nomination of Shahin came on Tuesday, only 24 hours after Mubarak had spoken of an intended Egyptian diplomatic offensive across the region. In a policy statement delivered during his visit to the Special Forces of the Armed Forces, President Hosni Mubarak suggested a plan to fast-track Egyptian diplomatic involvement in regional files. While prioritising involvement in the Middle East peace process to stabilise Egypt's eastern borders, the president said he was giving serious attention to developments that could affect regional security to the south of the country. Promoting stability in Sudan and Somalia are crucial for Egyptian national security, the president said on Monday. For Egypt, the president added, it is a prominent responsibility to bring peace and security to Darfur and attend to the maintaining of durable peace between the north and south of Sudan. To serve this purpose, the president said, Egypt is planning continued consultations with the Sudanese government and its opposition in Darfur and the south. "We are pursuing comprehensive national unity that would protect Sudan's unity, stability and the co-existence of all its citizens," Mubarak said. As for Somalia, Mubarak stated, what counted most was to overcome the political and security problems that have undermined the country's security and allowed for increasing signs of instability, including the growing rate of piracy off the shores of Somalia. Beyond Sudan and Somalia, the presidential statement underlined a determination to secure stability and good neighbourly relations with the countries of the Nile Basin. Egypt, Mubarak said, is not going to compromise "its historic rights and shares of the Nile water". Meanwhile, the president indicated a new interest on the part of the Egyptian leadership to contribute to stability in Afghanistan, mainly through humanitarian intervention. The president, however, stated explicitly that he had "turned down many international demands to contribute Egyptian troops to military operations in Afghanistan. "I told them that Egypt cannot be party to any military operation against brotherly Muslim nations." The president, who is expecting to welcome his Iranian opposite number Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a summit of the Non Aligned Movement in Sharm El-Sheikh in mid-July, confined his remarks on Iran to the context of nuclear non-proliferation. Egypt, Mubarak said, is following the development of nuclear non-proliferation in Korea "and its repercussions on nuclear non-proliferation schemes in the Middle East, in relation to both Iran and Israel". Meanwhile, Mubarak was scheduled yesterday afternoon, as the paper was going to print, to discuss Arab reconciliation with visiting Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and Algerian President Abdel-Aziz Bouteflika.
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