Political analysts agree that President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi's five-day visit by to New York to attend the 69th session of the UN General Assembly achieved three strategic objectives. Al-Sisi reinforced his standing as the legitimately elected president of Egypt, foiled attempts by some capitals, Ankara among them, to isolate him, and successfully cast himself as a partner in America's war against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Al-Sisi held meetings with several world leaders, including French President Francois Hollande and UK Prime Minister David Cameron. But it was his meeting with US President Barak Obama on 25 September that Egyptian political experts say was most significant, easing at least some of the tensions which have dogged Egyptian-American relations since the ouster of Mohamed Morsi. “America's declaration of war against ISIS struck a chord with Al-Sisi and helped change Western politicians' perceptions of the president,” says Sameh Seif Al-Yazal, a former intelligence officer and the current chairman of Al-Gomhouria Centre for Political and Strategic Studies. “From being seen as an army general who led a military coup against a freely elected president he is now viewed as a leader who saved his country from Islamist extremists and who could be a valuable partner in America's international coalition against ISIS.” Obama and Al-Sisi both stressed that strategic dialogue was still needed to strengthen bilateral relations — a diplomatic way of acknowledging, says Seif Al-Yazal, that “differences between the two countries have not yet been resolved”. “Although America's war against ISIS and the role of Cairo in brokering a ceasefire in Gaza last month forced Obama to take a pragmatic approach to Al-Sisi, other concerns remain a thorn in the side of relations between the two countries,” says Al-Yazal. “Although Al-Sisi and Obama identified common objectives in their one and a half hour meeting — including fighting Islamist terrorism and pushing for a peace treaty between the Israelis and Palestinians — they differed over Egypt's political reform agenda and the recent warmth in relations between Al-Sisi and Russian President Vladimir Putin,” says Mustafa Bakri, editor-in-chief of the weekly Al-Osbou, who cited sources close to the president. Bakri argues that Cairo should in any case be looking to reduce its military dependency on the US. “Such military cooperation has always been politically conditioned. We should be seeking other partners like Russia for our military needs,” he says. Bakri predicts that Putin will soon be in Cairo and that Russia is close to providing Egypt with MiG-35 fighter jets that will help it combat Islamist militants in Sinai. “Obama still stipulates that the Muslim Brotherhood be reintegrated into the political process to form part of what he terms inclusive democracy,” notes Bakri. “He also asked for the release of Al-Jazeera channel journalists, a request which surprised Al-Sisi given that Al-Jazeera is the favoured mouthpiece of America's jihadist foes.” “If Obama is serious about defeating Islamist extremists it is odd that he should make the release of these journalists a condition for restoring strategic relations with Egypt.” Differences between Al-Sisi and Obama over Egypt's political process remain so wide that the recent rapprochement between them should be viewed as no more than a tactical manoeuvre, says Bakri. “It is no means a secret that Obama believes Egypt under Al-Sisi is autocratic,” says Bakri, while Al-Sisi, like millions of Egyptians, is suspicious that Obama's calls for “inclusive democracy” aim only to spread chaos and trouble in Egypt. On his last day in New York Al-Sisi was blunt in rejecting any Muslim Brotherhood members of the new parliament. During a meeting with Egyptian journalists on 25 September he said “if any Muslim Brotherhood activists managed to infiltrate the new parliament in any form the Egyptian people will move quickly to expel them from parliament”. A White House official, widely quoted in the US media following the two leaders' meeting, said Obama had raised “ongoing concerns on Egypt's political trajectory”. The official cited the jailing of young secular political activists, the protest law, Egypt's poor human rights record and the sentences against the Al-Jazeera journalists as the source of these concerns. Jihad Al-Khazen, former editor of the pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat, told the Egyptian CBC channel that Al-Sisi's visit to America had exposed divisions in Washington over Egypt. “Pragmatists like Secretary of State John Kerry, who visited Egypt more than any other country last year, and some Pentagon officials, are pressing for greater cooperation with Cairo and argue that Al-Sisi should be granted more time to prove he is democratic,” said Al-Khazen. “But there is another camp, including a lot of Congress people and most of the liberal media, demanding greater pressure on Al-Sisi to democratise and seek reconciliation with the Brotherhood.” “In all of his meetings,” says Al-Yazal, who is known to be close to military and intelligence circles, “Al-Sisi stressed the progress of Egypt's political roadmap, including the staging of parliamentary elections later this year.” Al-Yazal also underlined the significance of Egypt's role as a peace broker, which will be underlined when it holds an international conference on Gaza in October. “The conference, sponsored by Norway, will not only help shed new light on the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza, but will muster greater international support for the push to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” Presidential spokesman Alaa Youssef issued a statement last Saturday saying that during his visit to New York Al-Sisi received invitations from 12 heads of state to visit their countries. “They included the presidents of France, South Korea, Chile, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Equatorial Guinea and Chad, and the prime ministers of the UK, Japan, Lebanon and Ethiopia,” said the statement. The Japanese embassy in Cairo says Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent an envoy to Egypt immediately after Al-Sisi was elected to extend an invitation to visit Japan. “President Al-Sisi was keen to invite Japan to participate in Egypt's Economic Summit which expected to be held next February,” noted an embassy official. Al-Sisi used his meetings in New York to drum up participation in Egypt's Economic Summit, says Youssef. “Egypt's economic situation remains a priority for President Al-Sisi. He believes that next year's economic conference will be crucial in helping the country overcome its economic woes.” The conference was first proposed by King Abdallah Bin Abdel-Aziz of Saudi Arabia and is expected to attract participation from most Arab Gulf countries states, Arab economic assistance funds and international development banks. Al-Sisi told American and Egyptian investors in New York that Egypt aims to phase out subsidies over the next five years. Al-Sisi's New York visit saw relations with Turkey and Qatar dip to new lows. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's and Qatar Emir Tamim Bin Hamad's portrayal of Egypt's 30 June revolution as a military coup have strained already tense relations. Al-Ahram political analyst Hassan Abu Taleb says that despite their best efforts Erdogan and Hamad failed to isolate Al-Sisi “They failed in New York just as they failed during the Gaza crisis in July. The problem with Qatar and Turkey is that they place their ideological affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood above the political and economic interests of their countries.” “Qatar is now under pressure from other Arab Gulf countries to abandon its hostility towards Al-Sisi and it will suffer if it fails to do so,” argues Abu Taleb.” Qatar could be further sidelined if it refuses to change its pro-Islamist stance before Egypt chairs the Arab summit at the end of March.”
