Dina Ezzat reports on moves to emphasise Egypt's regional influence Behind a thick veil of denial concerning any challenge to Cairo's role as the region's foremost capital, there seems to be a growing awareness among all parties concerned that Egypt needs to do more, if it is to maintain its status as the for-long unchallenged Arab leader. Indeed, sources say that while decision-making circles have not been particularly alarmed by the wave of scepticism, and for that matter dismay, expressed in Egypt and elsewhere over what is described as a decline in Egypt's leadership, such parties are not undermining the concern expressed either. "There is considerable exaggeration expressed over the past few months, regarding the effectiveness of Egypt's regional role. This is for sure," commented a well-positioned source. He argued that particularly overblown was the comparison drawn by many commentators between the roles of Egyptian diplomacy, arguably on the decline, and that of Saudi diplomacy, seemingly on the rise. "This comparison is unfair to start with in view of the strong financial edge that Saudi Arabia has," he said. However, this same source acknowledged "a need to do more, to speak up more and to come across to the people in and outside of Egypt in a better and more influential light." He said that much is being done by Cairo in relation to all crucial regional files. "It is just that it is not well-projected, and perception is certainly important," he added. This realisation might have come later than it should have. Still, it has prompted high-level directives to be issued to various political and diplomatic bodies to draw up a plan to better present the role and influence that Cairo carries. The first salvo in this effort was to lobby the support of Washington, and consequently Baghdad, for Egypt to play host to the Iraq Neighbourhood Committee meeting due to open in Sharm El-Sheikh early next month. It is no secret that Ankara had been lobbying to host the meeting, and that a tentative agreement was all but concluded that it would. However, with a push from the US, Iraq requested that the gathering be held in Egypt at the level of foreign ministers. The meeting brings together Iraq, all its immediate neighbours, Egypt and the Arab League. Iran, Iraq's most influential neighbour, has expressed tacit reluctance to participate but sources insist that indirect encouragement was put in place to prompt the participation of the Iranian foreign minister. As part of Egypt's drive to come across in a more effective and positive regional light, plans are being made to allow for all participating foreign ministers to be welcomed by President Hosni Mubarak, including the foreign minister of Iran. A slightly warmer relationship between Cairo and Tehran -- which have not had full diplomatic relations for close to three decades -- is being examined as yet another tool of Cairo's diplomatic repositioning. Shortly after the Iraq meeting, Sharm El-Sheikh will play host to two more international meetings on Iraq, by the G8 and the International Compact on Iraq, a meeting expected to bring together representatives of 40 or more countries involved in helping Iraq get back on its feet. Diplomats say that playing host to such meetings is not a minor issue, since by playing host, Egypt is actually signaling its weight. Moreover, they argue, the host of such meetings is always involved in the drafting of whatever declarations are issued, as well as the follow-up mechanisms established. In late May or early June, Egypt will play host to yet another round of meetings in relation to the Arab-Israeli struggle. A meeting of the foreign ministers of the Arab Quartet (Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates) is due to discuss with the international Quartet (the US, Russia, EU and the UN) the political action needed to maintain and upgrade the Palestinian-Israeli mechanism of talks that was constructed by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during her Middle East visit last month. The Quartet meeting was scheduled for late this month, but then delayed to allow for the meeting of the Arab Peace Initiative Committee which convened at the Arab League yesterday, and the new bi-weekly talks between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert which began on Sunday. There again, diplomats and other officials argue that Egypt's involvement in the settlement of the Arab-Israeli struggle goes far beyond hosting meetings. It is Egypt, they say, that is currently hard at work with Palestinians and Israelis to finalise the details of a prisoner swap that would allow for the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, taken hostage by a Palestinian group in June of last year, in return for two batches of a few hundred Palestinian prisoners. "If this deal is finalised within the next few weeks as we hope, then Egypt might host an Olmert-Abbas summit to announce the deal and to discuss possible follow-up moves to activate the long-stalled Palestinian-Israeli negotiations," one informed source suggested. Meanwhile, directives have been issued by Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit to Egyptian diplomatic missions overseas to conduct more activities and to take more vocal stances especially on key issues of direct regional bearing. It is very much an open question whether such activity would deliver the required results that sceptics find hard to achieve on the basis of any short-term or ultra- cautious diplomatic scheme. For their part, officials and diplomats warn of the nostalgia for the image of Egypt's leadership in the 1950s and 1960s, saying regional and international set-ups of today are very different from those of five decades ago. However that may be, critics argue that Egypt's indispensable participation, not to mention approval, in all regional decisions and moves have definitely been compromised.
