Assem El-Kersh examines the significance of President Hosni Mubarak's historic tour of Russia, China and Kazakhstan Yesterday President Hosni Mubarak embarked on a three-leg tour that has taken him to Russia and on to China and Kazakhstan. While political relations are obviously high on the agenda a major focus of the trip will be to boost Egypt's still modest levels of cooperation with three of the world's fastest-growing emerging economies. The mutual political and strategic interests, though, will dominate meetings in Moscow, Mubarak's first stop. It is no secret that Egypt wants to see Moscow playing an enhanced role in the Middle East peace process. The Palestinian question is of paramount importance and the rapidly deteriorating situation in the Occupied Arab Territories necessitates renewed intervention by Russia. Moscow maintains excellent working relationships with Arab states and Israel, placing it in a unique position to play a constructive role. Given the considerable overlap between the Egyptian and Russian positions on a host of regional and international questions Cairo believes Russia could also exercise a positive influence on other flash points, including Iraq, Lebanon and Darfur as well as over the Iranian nuclear issue and, not least, the war on terror. As the New York Times recently suggested Egypt may well be hoping to prompt greater US interest in actively pursuing the peace process by drawing in politically influential states such as Russia and China. "Egypt is not interested in entering into alliances. It is only interested in cementing closer ties with all parties" President Mubarak said on the eve of his departure. The president called on "Russia to play a greater role in the Middle East". He added that such a "call does not reflect a desire to counterbalance the American role in the region". He stressed the vital importance of the international community's collective efforts to resolve the Middle East's problems. That the trip must be viewed in the context of regional and global developments is underlined by Mubarak's participation in the African-Chinese Cooperation Forum, a gathering of heads of state in Beijing between 3 and 5 November that will commemorate the 50th anniversary of Sino-African ties. In Beijing Mubarak will meet with top Chinese officials to discuss ways of strengthening both the scale and scope of existing bilateral cooperation. Egypt is keen to sound out Chinese expertise in the peaceful uses of nuclear technology as well as expand trade and investment ties with Asia's economic powerhouse. In the same vein, Trade and Industry Minister Rachid Mohamed Rachid told Al-Ahram Weekly that opening up to the East does not mean not doing business with the West. "Strengthening economic and trade ties with emerging economies like China, India and Russia is essential given the dramatic changes that have occurred to the world economic map," Rachid said. He explained that while the "political agenda is important ... the economic agenda should not be directed by political considerations". Egypt's economic agenda is market-driven and "it cannot isolate itself from cooperating with such large and dynamic economies as China's." Rachid stressed that Egypt's quest for closer economic ties has to be viewed within its overall strategy of dealing with globalisation and diversifying trade partners. "The average growth in the volume of Egyptian-Chinese trade proves that in the coming years, China, and not the USA, will be Egypt's primary trade partner. This has nothing to do with politics. Both governments have no control on the companies' dealings which will ultimately lead to an increase of bilateral trade between Egypt and China." Fostering closer cooperation with Far Eastern nations is part and parcel of Cairo's strategy of consolidating Egypt's position as the entry gate for intercontinental Asian-African trade, a goal it has been pursuing within the African-Chinese Forum of Cooperation. Egypt has asked that both the Beijing Declaration and the plan of action -- covering the next three years -- for closer African-Chinese cooperation offer detailed steps towards achieving their aims. "Egypt's economy is ready to be integrated in the global economy and made more competitive. Opening up our market to Eastern countries is now of vital importance if Egypt is to intensify its integration within the global economy in a healthy manner," Rachid told the Weekly. While underlining the strength of political ties between Egypt and Russia, China and Kazakhstan, Presidential Spokesman Suleiman Awaad added that Mubarak's trip "certainly aims at giving a boost to Egypt's economic cooperation with these three countries". The exchange of high- level visits has always proved useful in giving a strong push to cultural exchanges which remain vulnerable in the absence of such interaction. Visits between President Mubarak and Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2004 and 2005, says Awaad, gave an enormous boost to bilateral ties, reflected in a tripling of the volume of trade between the two countries which in 2003 stood at a meagre $400 million. In Russia Mubarak will also explore the possibilities of cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear technology as well as considering the option of Egypt hosting a Russian industrial high-tech engineering zone targeting markets in Africa and the Middle East. Of critical importance is the attempt to touch base with the former Soviet republics of Central Asia, among which Kazakhstan is the largest as well as the wealthiest. Mubarak will be using his visit to the Kazakh capital of Astana to review ways to develop bilateral cooperation. Both Mubarak and Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev have expressed their interest in promoting good relations across a wide range of areas but especially, Awaad announced, on the cultural front. Given the range of issues scheduled for discussion, and their international ramifications, President Mubarak's Eurasian tour may well prove to be a watershed.
