PRESIDENT Hosni Mubarak, now recuperating in Germany after an operation to remove his gall bladder, has delegated Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif to head the Egyptian delegation to an annual Arab summit due to open in Libya on Saturday. The official Middle East News Agency (MENA) said Nazif would fly to the Libyan town of Sirte to attend the summit. Arab diplomats have suggested that the move could delay reconciliation efforts between Arab countries, spearheaded by Saudi Arabia. Mubarak did not attend the last two summits, which were held in Damascus, Syria in 2008 and in Doha, Qatar last year, due to differences between Egypt and the two respective host countries. An Arab diplomat based in Cairo said the absence of Mubarak could delay Arab reconciliation between Egypt on the one hand and Syria, Qatar and Algeria on the other. "For sure, the reconciliation could not be completed with the attendance [at the summit] of prime ministers or foreign ministers," the diplomat, who asked not to be named, added. He said that Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz had exerted “intense efforts” to persuade the leaders of these Arab countries to sit together at the same table, and Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faysal had recently held talks in Damascus, Cairo and Doha over the reconciliation. The Arab summit is scheduled to mull measures to confront Israeli practices in East Jerusalem as well as the resumption of the Palestinian-Israeli stalled peace talks. Mubarak had his gall bladder removed in the Heidelberg University Clinic on March 6. He has resumed political activities there and is due in Egypt within days, according to Health Minister Dr Hatem el- Gabali. Meanwhile, Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa wanted the 22- nation bloc to engage Iran directly over concerns about its growing influence and its nuclear activities, in a step that could undermine US and Israeli efforts to isolate the country, diplomats said yesterday. They added Moussa would present his proposal in a policy document to the twoday Arab League leaders summit in Sirte. The engagement would take the form of a forum for regional cooperation and conflict resolution that would include non- Arab nations Iran and Turkey, two Arab League diplomats said. They agreed to discuss details of the proposal on condition of anonymity because of their sensitivity.
