Egyptian officials believe that President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi's four-day trip to Rome and Paris, which ends on Friday, was both a success and "a new beginning.” It was a success for some simply because it took place. “We had already eliminated all attempts to impose diplomatic isolation on Egypt when the president went ahead and took part in the UN General Assembly [in September] but with the trip to Rome and Paris, two leading European capitals, we are making it clear that the president is not just being received by world leaders on the fringe of international meetings but that he is given the red carpet at leading western capitals,” said one presidential aide. It was also a success, he added, because the visit happened despite the “continued internal debate about some issues” including the dates of the parliamentary elections, the “slight delay” of which had prompted several countries to demand a delay of an international economic conference on Egypt from the winter of 2014 to the spring of 2015. “I think that the world is becoming aware now that we are pursuing the process and that in every process there could be some hiccups, but we are moving on,” he told Ahram Online. Meanwhile, argued a different government source, the trip was a success because it allowed for agreements, some firm and some tentative, for wider economic/development and military cooperation. These agreements are to be pursued on the bilateral level away from any future multilateral agreements. “I think it is safe to say that we should expect to see more investments and more tourists coming from Italy and France to Egypt in the coming few months; I am not here talking about a sharp increase or a sudden shift in numbers but I am talking about a change of attitudes from hesitation to hopeful prospect,” she said. According to the same source, President El-Sisi was “directly told” by his interlocutors in Rome and Paris, who he had visited consecutively in his first European tour, that there is considerable interest on the part of the investor community in these two countries – as in other European countries – to come to Egypt. While acknowledging the narrative offered by sources from Rome and Paris that this show of interest was coupled with concerns about stability, the source argued that “once a parliament is elected, and it should be elected as the president promised openly in the first quarter of 2015, maybe a little delay but not significant anyway,” things would be moving in the right direction. This was also the message that El-Sisi, according to some members of his delegation, was keen to pass on to those he met with. “He was very clear about two things: the determination to complete the remaining steps of the [political transition] road map and about the intention to make Egypt a democracy-pursuing and tourism-and-investment-attracting destination,” said one. Another reason why many concerned Egyptian officials see the trip as a new beginning is that it included “specific agreement on future bilateral cooperation on matters related to regional stability.” Particularly constructive discussions, they say, focused on developments in Libya, where it was agreed during the talks that the president held with both the prime minister of Italy and the president of France that the “defeat” of radical Muslim groups would have to be achieved and that a “key blow to these groups would have to start by putting pressure on the countries that finance and provide assistance to these groups to cut off resources and support.” It was also agreed that to help Libya get over the current phase of “total and frightening chaos” direct “technical and intelligence support would have to be offered to the Tobruk camp” which is seen as the representative of the moderate camp in Libya. The Egyptian-Italian and the Egyptian-French take on the situation in Libya, which is of definite strategic concern to the three countries, is seen as part and parcel of the overall war on terror in the region, sources from the three countries say. And while Rome and Paris did not agree that all political Islam groups could be put in the same basket as ISIS and Jabhat Al-Nussra, they agreed with El-Sisi that the elimination of these last two and any other offshoots of the two groups or of Al-Qaida is an imminent obligation. This is precisely why, said Italian and French sources, that southern European countries with concerns that a rise in instability in the Arab world could lead to a sharp increase in the levels of illegal migration, are very keen to support the stability of Egypt – even at the expense of “Western democratic values.” Next week, the European Union envoy on counter-terrorism affairs is expected to visit Cairo for detailed discussions on specific measures that could be pursued on the diplomatic and intelligence fronts to help with the fight against militancy. “There is a new wide base of cooperation here even if we don't see eye to eye on many things including the determined and relentless Egyptian demand for Europe to put the Muslim Brotherhood on the list of terror groups,” said an EU source. He added that there is no evidence that the Brotherhood is in fact a terror group and there is a fear in the EU that the exaggerated elimination of all democratic channels for political Islamic groups might be strengthening rather than weakening the call of ISIS and similar groups. Behind closed doors, however, sources agree that there was room for what one Italian source qualified as “a very candid discussion” on matters of concern to both Rome and Paris in relation to the state of liberties and human rights in Egypt. The same Italian source was keen to stress that “whatever was said was said with an eye on the Egyptian constitution” which was adopted in January of this year weeks before the announcement of the nomination of former minister of defence El-Sisi for the top executive job. Italian and French sources suggest that the Egyptian president was "quite open" about the matter. “He spoke a lot about the independence of the judiciary, about the war of terror groups on the army and the police, and about the fear of Egyptian society of a big dramatic failure that could put Egypt on the path of Syria and Iraq; but he openly promised that he would use his maximum presidential prerogatives to give a push to the release of activists and to amend the demonstrations law.” The European side also sees the visit of El-Sisi to both Rome and Paris this week as a success, moving beyond exchanges of accusations and towards making progress on all fronts. The issue that takes precedence at the moment is the fight against militants, say European diplomats. It is, they add, a concern to everyone: Europe and the West, Egypt, and other influential actors like Saudi Arabia and Israel. This "war on terror" will have to be coupled, according to the same sources, with candid efforts to promote peace in the Middle East, especially between Palestinians and Israel, and to provide remedies for ailing economies. http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/116637.aspx
