Dina Ezzat looks at the agenda of the president's three-state tour Yesterday President Hosni Mubarak arrived in Dublin on the first stop of a three-leg European tour. "This is a historic visit by all accounts. It is the first-ever visit by an Egyptian president to Ireland and it is a visit the Irish government is very keen on," Egypt's Ambassador to Ireland Ibrahim Khaiyrat told Al-Ahram Weekly on the phone from the Irish capital. Given that Egypt was the first Arab country to operate an embassy in Dublin, Khaiyrat said, the visit carries high significance. Mubarak's tour is also scheduled to take him to Paris where he will meet French President Jacques Chirac for the third time in a year, and Berlin for his third summit with German Chancellor Angela Merkel since her election over a year ago. The tour, as President Mubarak said earlier this week, has a dual purpose; to promote Egypt's bilateral relations, especially in relation to trade and industrial cooperation with European partners, and to discuss European involvement in settling many hot regional disputes. Speaking to the Weekly from their post of service, Khaiyrat and his counterparts in Paris and Berlin, Nasser Kamel and Mohamed El-Orabi, did not underestimate the importance of the visit in terms of promoting economic -- especially with regards to attracting investments -- and cultural cooperation between Egypt and the three European capitals. Egypt's ambassadors also stressed the significance of the tour in enhancing what they qualified as close political coordination that Cairo maintains with these capitals on a wide range of regional and international issues including the Palestinian file, the situation in Iraq, regional stability and the non- proliferation of nuclear weapons in the Middle East. Following his two-day visit to Dublin, Mubarak is expected to arrive tomorrow in Paris where he will inaugurate an exhibition of Egyptian monuments. Alongside this mega cultural event, Mubarak is scheduled to hold a summit with Chirac, likely to focus on a deteriorating political and stability situation in the Middle East. Given the keen interest of France in the developments in Lebanon, the disturbing political developments in Beirut, in view of the polarisation between the government and the opposition, is expected to top the list of the Middle East agenda between the Egyptian and French presidents. "The close rapport between presidents Mubarak and Chirac has always proved instrumental in stimulating coordinated stances between France and Egypt on issues of common concern. Obviously, the regional developments make the upcoming summit of Mubarak and Chirac very crucial," Kamel said from his office in Paris. On the last stop of his tour, Mubarak is expected in Berlin which is preparing for an upcoming six-month presidency of the G-8 and the European Union as of 1 January. As such, Mubarak's visit to Germany, according to statements made by El-Orabi from Berlin, offers an excellent opportunity to convey the Egyptian point of view on a host of serious regional issues including the developments on the Palestinian front, Iraq, Darfur and Lebanon. "It is very important to realise that for the first time in the history of the European Union and upon a German initiative, Berlin, in coordination with its two successors in the rotated chairmanship of the European Union, will draft an 18-month European foreign policy. This is why it is very important for the Germans to listen to President Mubarak personally on the eve of their presidency of the EU," Orabi said. Germany will also be taking the European chair in meetings of the Quartet for six months, starting January. "This makes it all the more reason for the Egyptian president, who dedicates much of his time and effort to the Palestinian issue, to consult with the German leadership on this matter." Mubarak's visit to Germany comes at a time when Berlin is contemplating a new approach towards guaranteeing Israel's security. For decades, Germany has tried to correct what it sees as historic wrongdoing to the Jews by providing Israel with easy access to modern arms. During the past few years the sales of German submarines capable of carrying nuclear warheads has caused unease in several capitals. However, it seems now, especially after the war on Lebanon, that Germany is set to encourage Israel to guarantee its security through making peace with its neighbours. "President Mubarak is known and appreciated in Germany as a true advocate of peace. The Germans are keen to upgrade their support to peace-making in the Middle East and as such they are very keen to listen to the views of the president," El-Orabi said. Mubarak's tour has been described by his spokesman Suleiman Awaad as a timely opportunity to garner the support of European leaders on consequential regional matters. During his talks in Europe throughout the week, Mubarak is expected to give particular attention to developments in Darfur. "The president is very keen to secure as much international wisdom as possible in handling these two particularly sensitive issues," commented one source. He added that Mubarak has been firmly speaking up against any tendency to impose international peacekeeping troops in Darfur against the will of the Khartoum regime. "The nature of the peoples have to be understood. The Sudanese themselves will not accept the imposition of troops on their territories," Mubarak warned this week in answer to questions suggesting that the US might opt for the enforcement of UN peacekeepers in Darfur. "President Mubarak will consult [with leaders in Europe] about the possible answers to the situation in Khartoum provided that any solution be accepted by the Sudanese government," the source added. The overall stability of the region and the need to avoid further military or political disturbances is also a top issue on Mubarak's agenda while in the three European capitals. Indeed, despite the limitations imposed by Cairo on its diplomatic ties with Tehran, Egypt has been firmly and repeatedly advising that all international powers concerned refrain from the use of force against Iran aimed at aborting its alleged nuclear intentions. "Egypt's belief is that the Middle East should be declared a zone free of weapons of mass destruction. This is a call President Mubarak is consistently conveying," commented a diplomatic source. However, he added that achieving this objective would require cooperation among all regional parties, "not just some". Moreover, given Egypt's commitment to and interest in the right of every sovereign state, including those signatory to the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty (NPT), to develop peaceful nuclear technology in line with internationally accepted guidelines and safeguards, Mubarak is expected to explore during this European tour Egypt's chances of pursuing cooperation in relation to the peaceful uses of nuclear technology to develop energy. Mubarak's European tour comes less than a month after a trip that included Russia, China and Kazakhstan which also aimed at conveying the Egyptian reading of many regional disturbances and to pursue closer bilateral cooperation. Cairo believes such high-profile trips are of significant importance. Egyptian diplomats like to use the example of rising Egyptian- Russian rapport as an example. Following Mubarak's October visit to Moscow, on Friday Russian Foreign Minister Sergy Lavrov was in Cairo for consultations with President Mubarak and for a session of the Egyptian- Russian Strategic Dialogue with his counterpart Ahmed Abul-Gheit. The president of Kazakhstan was also in Sharm El-Sheikh late last week for a private visit followed by an official visit early next year. It is this diversification of diplomatic ties which Egypt has been eyeing as a prime objective.
