On 18 August President Hosni Mubarak is scheduled to meet US President Barack Obama at the White House. This would be the second bilateral meeting between the two presidents, following Obama's visit to Cairo on 4 June. And it would be the first visit of Mubarak to the US in five years. Mubarak interrupted his otherwise regular annual visits to the US -- a foreign policy priority for Cairo -- in 2004. The fallout with the previous George W Bush administration was complex. In 2004 Bush, right in the wake of his meeting with Mubarak, accorded former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon the infamous assurances that Israel would not have to fully abide by the requirements of international law in any final settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli struggle. The former US president also openly and continuously criticised Egypt's record of democratisation and human rights observation. On top of this, Bush showed no enthusiasm to accommodate repeated Egyptian requests for expanded economic cooperation. Today, Mubarak's political and economic aides, in preparing for his visit to the US, are sure to avoid making exaggerated demands of the new Obama administration. However, they must have some basic requests that they expect the US president to fulfil. The order of priorities for Egypt seems to be the same as it was back in 2004, more or less. The Egyptian regime is still keen to secure firm and sustainable US engagement in prompt settlement of the Arab-Israeli struggle, with priority given to the Palestinian track. Egypt already demonstrated willingness to support the Obama efforts to bring Palestinians and Israelis back to the negotiations table. In the US on 18 August, President Mubarak is likely to reassure his US counterpart of Egypt's continued support on this front. This said, it must be made clear that Egypt, no matter how willing, cannot go too far in promoting peace negotiations unless Obama manages to get the Israeli government to halt its ferocious illegal settlement building on occupied Palestinian territories. To do otherwise, the Egyptian regime would risk serious home opposition, especially by the Muslim Brotherhood, on the eve of two consecutive elections: legislative elections in 2010 and presidential elections in 2011. On the bilateral front, the Egyptian visit will have two obvious objectives. The first is to cast a more positive light on Egyptian-US relations. With Obama now in the White House, Egypt seems keen to re- position itself as a top ally for Washington in the region. Washington would certainly benefit from this. The second objective will require more serious work: to induce new mechanisms of cooperation and consultations between Cairo and Washington. The resurrection of the more off than on Egyptian-US strategic dialogue would be a good start. And the reformulation of US economic aid to Egypt to secure Egypt better access to US markets, and bigger share of US foreign investments, should be considered. Egypt and the US -- each for its own strategic and domestic reasons -- have much to gain from candid and substantial cooperation. The Mubarak-Obama meeting this month could set the tone for a new beginning.
