As we bid farewell today to the charming Ambassador of Malaysia to Egypt, Dr Mohd Fakhrudin Abdul-Mukti, as he returns to take up a university post in Kuala Lumpur, it is opportune to reconsider Egypt's foreign policy choices at the present time. Malaysia's iconic former Prime Minister, Dr Mahathir bin Mohamed, had a vision for his country that would bring it into the modern world in every way. His so-called “2020 vision" aimed to make Malaysia one of the world's most advanced Muslim nations by the year 2020, on a par with anything the West could offer. With just eight years to go, Malaysia is well on its way to achieving that goal. Egypt, too, is in need of such a vision for the future. When the dust finally settles after so much instability of recent months, the country is in need of a strong direction, both at home and abroad. The changes that have swept across North Africa and the Middle East since last year leave many wondering what the region will look like in five or ten years' time. What we have witnessed so far is the re-arranging of who sits on which chair. Presidents have come and gone, but the countries concerned haven't changed too much and they are still unsure what the future holds for them. The Region, as a whole, is in a state of flux. Time will tell what that future holds. For decades, Egyptian foreign policy, dominated by the wishes of the United States, has looked to Israel. The Camp David Accords and the ensuing Peace Treaty with Israel, so hated on the Egyptian street, tied the hands of Egypt's leaders in favour of a cold peace, which has been little more than the absence of war, although very lucrative to those with business interests between the two countries. However, much as the Israelis would like to think it does, the world does not revolve around Israel. With a President elected for the first time by the will of the people, Egypt can now honestly ask itself what is in the best interests of Egypt, not of Israel or the United States. Malaysia and Indonesia, for example, find that as a matter of principle they do not and never have had diplomatic relations with Israel. On assuming office, the new President quickly asserted that Africa would be at the very top of Egypt's foreign policy agenda, as well as maintaining strong relations with the Arab and Muslim world. Later, this week he will visit China and then head to Iran to attend the annual meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement. In what is seen as a major break from the past, this thawing of relations with Iran could have profound consequences on the balance of power in the region. The United States and its friends would have us believe that Iran is a threat to world peace. At every step, the United States and its European friends have tried to thwart Iran's attempts to build nuclear reactors for what Iran itself claims to be peaceful purposes. The idea of attacking Iran is now a commonplace topic of conversation in Washington and Tel Aviv. The Arab Spring has left Israel terrified at what its future might be. A strong Iran makes that future even less certain. Let us be clear, Iran has its own agendas. The foreign policy of Iran is designed to benefit, first and foremost, Iran itself, just as the recent foreign policy initiatives of Turkey have been designed to benefit Turkey. In recent years, Turkey has played a very clever game, courting the Arab street despite its own previously strong ties with Israel. Turkey has also managed to maintain good relations with the European Union, even though its soldiers occupy one of its member states. With growing economic power, Turkey is becoming a major player not only in the region, but also in the world. Whilst there are many foreign policy difficulties that lie ahead of her, not the least of them for Egypt is Israel itself. The Israeli government is adept at turning world events to its own advantage or shifting the emphasis of things so that an Israel under threat is the one being talked about. Whenever Israeli interests are threatened something always seems to happen to divert our attention. We have seen this time and time again over the question of illegal settlements in the West Bank. With the world talking about the Peace Process or the breakdown of talks between Hamas and Fatah, the Israeli bulldozers move in and swiftly destroy more Palestinian homes or Israeli planes carry out further assassinations of Palestinian leaders in Gaza. It is surely no coincidence that when the new Egyptian administration gave the first hint of a rapprochement with the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip, one of the first things to happen was the incident in the Sinai, where the lives of Egyptian soldiers were lost at the hands of unidentified attackers. The world's eyes were immediately moved away from the talks with Hamas to the perceived terrorist threat on the Egyptian-Israeli border. Now, the time has come for Egypt to put Egypt at the centre of her foreign policy. It may be that Egypt's best interests do not lie with the United States at all. This was certainly the belief of President Gamal Abdel Nasser. It was the dramatic policy shift of President Sadat's “Open Door" that moved Egypt in the direction of the West. The offer of billions of dollars is certainly very tempting, then as now, although we mustn't be fooled into thinking that these dollars are of direct benefit to Egypt's people. Most of the money goes on armaments sales. It has, however, persuaded Egypt's leaders in the past to make choices that have not always benefitted Egypt. In international diplomacy, there are no free lunches. Aid always comes at a price. The choice is very simple: will the US dollars benefit Egypt more or will a foreign policy that best preserves her interests? Turkey and Iran have both proved that it is possible to conduct a foreign policy that serves the needs and the interest of its people, refusing to do what foreign countries require them to do. Perhaps Egypt should wake up to that fact and forge a foreign policy that best suits Egypt. That may ally her more with the countries of Africa. It may create for her even stronger ties with the Arab or Muslim world, although many of them still depend for their existence on their friendships with the West. It may even include exploring the role of the Non-Aligned Movement. After all, Egypt was one of its founders. As Egypt becomes stronger, with stronger institutions and a stronger political, social and economic infrastructure, she will be able to turn her thoughts beyond her borders. For countries like Israel, Egypt is too preoccupied with domestic issues at the moment to give her full attention to that file. Countries like Israel, though, realise that the time will come when Egypt is once more a major player on the regional stage and will no longer be tied to the purse strings of foreign countries. When that time comes, Egypt's foreign policy may well be very different to what it has been in recent years. When he is appointed and arrives in Cairo, the new Malaysian ambassador will take up his post at an exciting time in this country's history. We wish him well and we pray that Egypt, with the support of Malaysia and all of her other true friends, will make the right choices in the coming months and years, inshallah. British Muslim writer, Idris Tawfiq, is a lecturer at Al-Azhar University . The author of eight books about Islam, he divides his time between Egypt and the UK as a speaker, writer and broadcaster. You can visit his website at www.idristawfiq.com.
