In his speech to the Arab ministers of foreign Affairs meeting held on Sunday at the Arab League headquarters Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmi underlined that terrorism presented a greater danger to the region today than at any other time. Fahmi called on Arab states to co-ordinate their internal and external policies to stamp out the threat. Egypt also called for an urgent meeting of Arab ministers of justice and the interior to discuss the joint Arab agreement to combat terrorism and ascertain how far individual states abide by it. In response to Fahmi's call a two-day meeting was scheduled to start in Morocco on Wednesday. In the closed session of the foreign ministers meeting Saudi Arabia's decision to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organisation was discussed. Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal denounced terrorist acts committed in Egypt and Yemen. The one-day meeting of Arab foreign ministers discussed the draft agenda of the Arab Summit scheduled to be held in Kuwait on 25 and 26 March. Following diplomatic rifts between several Arab states and Qatar the Qatari foreign minister did not attend. “The Saudi move to consider the Brotherhood as a terrorist organisation and its decision, together with the UAE and Bahrain, to withdraw its ambassador from Qatar could be the beginning of a united front against Doha's attempts to foster terrorism in the region. It provides support for Egypt own position towards the Brotherhood,” said a diplomat who asked to remain anonymous. Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the UAE withdrew their ambassadors from Doha on 5 March to protest against Qatari policies. Egypt's ambassador to Qatar was summoned home late last year. Fahmi held meetings on the sidelines of the foreign ministers conference. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Badr Abdel-Atti said he met with his Saudi, Kuwaiti, Lebanese, Omani and Sudanese counterparts. Fahmi also held a meeting with Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zidan to discuss the bilateral relations in the wake of recent attacks in Libya on Christian Egyptians living there. The meeting took place on the margins of the International Ministerial Conference to support Libya held in Rome. Zidan said the Libyan government was working hard to protect the interests of Egyptians in Libya. The two officials also discussed security arrangements on the Egyptian-Libyan border. The foreign ministry has warned Egyptian expatriates in Libya to be vigilant and avoid unnecessary travel. The warning came in response to the deaths of seven Christian Egyptian murdered on a Benghazi beach by unknown assailants last month. A week later another Egyptian Christian was admitted to a hospital in Libya after being shot. He was later transferred to Egypt. The Rome meeting offered a chance for Fahmi to meet US Secretary of State John Kerry and the Spanish and Italian foreign ministers to discuss cooperation to combat terrorism. He also met with Pope Francis and the Vatican's prime minister and minister of foreign affairs. On the building of the Renaissance Dam, which has sparked a major crisis between Egypt and Ethiopia, Fahmi said that Cairo cannot condone “fruitless negotiations that seek only to waste time”. Egypt, he added, does not have the luxury to dither over water shortages that will result from the dam. During a press conference he said addressing the water crisis was one of his main priorities in all his foreign visits. “Diplomatic efforts operate on a variety of levels. I raise the Nile water issue in every meeting I have with foreign officials.” No Nile Basin state, he added, can achieve progress without cooperating with all the other Nile Basin countries. This week Fahmi met with his Sudanese counterpart Ali Karty. The pair issued a joint statement on Monday afternoon reiterating their commitment to cooperation on security and border issues. The statement also underlined Egypt and Sudan's continued commitment to the 1959 agreement that divides water between the two countries. On the African Union's Peace and Security Council's decision to suspend Egypt's membership following the removal of Mohamed Morsi, Fahmi said that Cairo would continue to press its case. The foreign ministry has launched a campaign to explain the domestic situation in Egypt through its foreign missions around the world. In addition, a team of diplomats has been touring Africa to voice Cairo's objections to its suspension from the African Union and to explain events on the ground. Fahmi characterised Egypt's post 30 June foreign policy as active on the Arab, African and European fronts. “We have clear positions on a host of different issues and will build on what has been done in the last few months. External efforts do not bear immediate fruits. We cannot separate the political from the economic, social or security tracks,” he said.
