The agenda of a series of high-level Arab consultations conducted by President Mubarak was complex. Dina Ezzat reports Visiting six Arab capitals, including five Arab Gulf states, in a little over three days, President Hosni Mubarak this week exerted maximum diplomatic efforts to secure a semblance of agreement on a set of crucial and complicated matters of concern. Mubarak spent two days, starting Sunday, touring the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia where he consulted with their rulers on the key issues to be brought up at the upcoming Arab summit expected to convene late this month in the Sudanese capital Khartoum. On Tuesday, Mubarak was in Libya for talks with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi discussing the same issues and more . To judge by the statements Mubarak granted the Egyptian press, a consensus is apparently in the making over most of the issues brought up by Mubarak for discussion. But as Mubarak himself hinted, there is still plenty of room for discussion in the days and weeks leading to the summit and beyond. "Despite the fact that we now have an annual Arab summit, there are so many developments that occur during the year which merit consultations among Arab leaders to help them reach a unified stance," Mubarak told chief Egyptian editors who accompanied him on his Gulf tour. In an extensive briefing, Mubarak said it was out of his conviction that more frequent meetings among Arab leaders were required and that he called for more frequent summits "that can be informal but that would allow for high-level talks among Arab leaders on pressing issues". According to Mubarak, there is consensus that the Red Sea coastal city of Sharm El-Sheikh would be the perfect venue for such meetings . This is not the first time Mubarak floats the proposal. At the Arab summit in Algeria last March Mubarak indicated Arab leaders need to meet at least twice a year, following the example of the African Union, to discuss the latest developments. According to informed sources, Mubarak prompted the leaders he recently met to use the opportunity of the upcoming summit to reach an agreement on the matter. Sources say Mubarak's proposal was welcomed and would be discussed further when Arab leaders meet for the summit that presidential spokesman Suleiman Awad said will convene on 28 March in Khartoum as previously decided. Members of the US congress had adopted a resolution last month urging Washington to exercise pressure to move the summit from Khartoum to penalise the Sudanese government for its alleged violations of human rights in Darfur. Earlier this year, similar pressure succeeded in denying Sudan the chairmanship of the African summit it hosted. "There were some question marks here and there about whether or not Sudan is up to hosting the summit but now the issue is not being questioned," commented one Arab diplomat. According to Awad all regional developments including the situation in Iraq, the Israeli escalation of violence against the Palestinians, attempts to isolate the democratically elected government of Hamas, the impact of the upcoming Israeli elections on Palestinians, the state of overall inter-Arab relations, including Syria and Lebanon, and Iran's nuclear programme were covered during this week's Mubarak's talks, in anticipation of adopting related resolutions in Khartoum . According to sources, the initial general consensus reached during the talks will be subject for further discussion with more Maghreb leaders, especially Algerian President Abdel-Aziz Boutaflika, the outgoing chair of the Arab summit, in the hope that the Khartoum summit will be conducted smoothly. So far it seems Arab nations are in agreement over continuing support to the Palestinian Authority and to give the Hamas government the benefit of the doubt. Sources say there is genuine Arab willingness to allow Hamas some six months to prove it can realistically deal with developments on the ground. Should Hamas play its cards right, the sources say, then Arab support will continue and Arab efforts escalated to accommodate Israeli-US antagonism against the new Palestinian government. "We urge the Israelis to negotiate with the Palestinians and not to hold up their financial revenues... I also tell the Americans that they should not cut their aid to the Palestinians," Mubarak said to the editors of the national dailies and press agency. Moreover, it appears Mubarak's tour succeeded in securing a collective Arab stance to continue diplomatic and political support for the would-be Iraqi government provided Baghdad refrains from taking steps towards civil strife. "What is unfolding in Iraq now is akin to a civil war," Mubarak warned . As for the repeated US request to send Arab troops to help stabilise Iraq, sources say the Arab summit will declare a collective willingness to reach out for Iraq once foreign troops start their withdrawal upon the request of the Iraqi government and independently from the leadership of the US and other foreign troops in Iraq. Meanwhile, President Mubarak, sources say, was very understanding of the concerns of the Arab Gulf states regarding the possible, even if remote, hazard of the Iranian nuclear programme. Mubarak proposed that at the summit, a collective Arab appeal be made to take firm steps towards declaring the Middle East free of all weapons of mass destruction. This said, there was an understanding reached during the Mubarak tour that while the Gulf will actively pursue Iranian assurances about the impact and objectives of Tehran's nuclear pursuit, it is dialogue rather than confrontation that should be pursued. "We are not at all interested in using force against any party," Mubarak stressed following his talks in the Gulf. On the Syrian-Lebanese front, Mubarak re- affirmed the collective Arab stance against any foreign intervention in internal Syrian affairs with the objective of toppling the regime of Bashar Al-Assad. In Saudi Arabia, during his talks with King Abdullah, Mubarak agreed that Cairo and Riyadh should step up their mediation efforts between Damascus and Beirut in the weeks leading up to the summit to prevent any unpleasant surprises that could torpedo the Arab gathering. Mubarak, informed sources insist, also said Cairo would not play the game of toppling the Lebanese president or cooperating with Lebanese opposition forces to serve this purpose. Indeed, Mubarak this week invited Lebanese President Emile Lahoud to attend meetings of the World Economic Forum to take place in Sharm El-Sheikh in May. In Libya, during talks with Gaddafi, Mubarak had a slightly different mission to accomplish, one of improving tense relations between Gaddafi and King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia who had a bitter verbal exchange during the 2003 Arab summit in Sharm El-Sheikh. Mubarak also sought to persuade Gaddafi that Libya has a crucial role to play, beyond mere criticism, in improving overall Arab relations and the status of the Arab League that the Libyan leader has often threatened to withdraw from. Above all, the presidential talks tackled the issue of the status of the secretary-general of the Arab League. Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa's first five-year term expires in mid- May. Arab League and Egyptian sources have both indicated that Moussa, a popular foreign minister of Egypt from 1991-2001, was becoming uncomfortable with the job due to the lack of commitment on the part of Arab countries to support the organisation and to take firm and collective stances against all threats interfering with strategic national Arab interests. Some sources indicated Moussa might have even expressed a wish for Cairo to consider another candidate. But sources say Egypt seems set to nominate Moussa for another term. They add this is strongly supported in several Arab capitals, including Riyadh and Damascus. Moussa has had a tense relationship with the Kuwaitis over his opposition to the war against Iraq that was misinterpreted in Kuwait as support for the toppled Iraqi President Saddam Hussein who invaded Kuwait in 1990. Moussa had also a misunderstanding with some members of the ruling family of the United Arab Emirates for declining to support a UAE proposal presented to the Arab summit of 2003 -- only three weeks before the US invasion of Iraq -- for Saddam to step down. Egyptian diplomats say Cairo has managed to clear up the misunderstandings. Cairo told Kuwait that it was fear of the current disturbing developments in Iraq that has prompted opposition to the war against Iraq. Cairo also explained it would have been difficult for an Arab summit hosted by Egypt to propose that any Arab leader step down since this would constitute a precedent in the norms of inter-Arab relations . Cairo, sources say, has also managed to secure the genuine commitment of member Arab states to provide due financial support to the Arab organisation. And in further preparation to the Arab summit, Mubarak, sources say, may also visit Syria and Algeria in the near future to finalise preparations. "Egypt believes the current regional situation is very serious and that the Arab world cannot afford any serious disagreements. This is the rationale behind Mubarak's efforts," commented an Egyptian diplomat. Home while away WHILE on an extensive Arab tour, President Hosni Mubarak highlighted some key home issues. Speaking to editors of the national dailies who accompanied him on his visit to five Arab Gulf states as well as Libya, Mubarak covered a wide range of issues related to political and economic reform. Overall, the president sounded willing to inject a sense of realistic optimism. He promised continuity for the reform process that he said he "initiated with a call to adjust Article 76 of the constitution" to allow for stability and a fresh outlook to politics within society. A new phase of reform likely to include some constitutional amendments is round the corner, Mubarak said. He hastened to add, however, that the anticipated reforms will not include an adjustment of the current style of rule that mixes the presidential with the parliamentarian. And whatever happens, Mubarak insisted, no moves that could "lead to anarchy" would be tolerated by the state. Moreover, Mubarak stressed that more guarantees would be made available for the freedom of the press, in a way that secures the priorities of society. Economic reforms, Mubarak argued -- as he always does -- are essential to improve the standard of living in society and thus allow for further political reforms. In view of his talks in the Gulf capitals and meetings he recently held with European and American officials, Mubarak said more direct foreign investments would be coming Egypt's way.
