Despite being a developing nation incapable of providing adequate job opportunities for its youth, Egypt possesses tremendous soft power that, if well utilized, could positively benefit our economy and political relationships. Our intense daily challenges might be diverting the Egyptian State from thinking strategically and capitalizing on our national strengths. Sadly, we have focused on advocating for a given political stance at the expense of a fully functional and beneficial foreign policy.
Since President Al Sisi assumed power in 2014, he has defined Egypt’s foreign policy in black and white; regional nations that are ruled by Islamic governments, or countries that are politically influenced by Islamists, are permanently placed on Egypt’s blacklist, whereas nations opposed to Islamists are our best allies. As a result, Egypt has frozen its relations with Turkey and Qatar, maintains cold relations with many regional states, and is in perfect harmony with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab of Emirates.
Egyptian foreign policy has revolved around a single proposition: we are the largest Arab nation, we have removed the Muslim Brotherhood from power and we are fighting Islamic terrorism; thus, we deserve unconditional support from our neighbors. This extremely narrow political proposition that only a few nations follow has restricted our potential political capabilities, placing us constantly in a defensive position; instead of working on expanding our regional power, we are exhausting our political vitality on working to avoid various conflicts.
Meanwhile, there is a huge difference between possessing cultural attributes that many Arabs admire and having a functional foreign policy capable of influencing the behavior and actions of neighboring policymakers! Egypt’s unwillingness to engage with its adversaries, discouraging Egyptian civil society organizations from interacting with their counterparts abroad, and not welcoming visitors from nations with whom we disagree have all resulted in shrinking Egypt’s regional political influence.
Egypt’s traditional strength lies in its ability to reach out to conflicting parties equally with the serious intention of resolving any given conflict in the region. Historically, Egypt has managed to sustain good relations with most Arab rulers while concurrently hosting their exiled opposition figures – a very delicate strategic approach that we used to apply skillfully. While we may have been naturally biased toward a given political force, all conflicting parties used to admire and rely on our mediating role.
This approach is best reflected in our long running mediation between the two Palestinian political entities (Fattah and Hamas) and our maintenance of good relations with all the Lebanese political forces. Moreover, and although often forgotten, Egypt hosted Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar, after he was exiled by his son in 1995. Similarly, Egypt offered asylum to other exiled political leaders from Libya, Sudan and Yemen.
There is a great difference between being implicitly biased toward a certain party and working on forcing a specific political outcome on a nation, such as backing Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, the Commander of the Libyan National Army at the expense of his opponent, Fayez Al-Sarraj, Prime Minister of the Government of National Accord of Libya. As a result of this approach, a number of European nations have interfered in the Libyan crisis, taking over Egypt’s traditional role, albeit unsuccessfully.
Should Egypt maintain relations with a regional nation that is working against our national security? The short answer is yes, but through a political dynamic that is specifically articulated to deal adequately with this position. The two largest economic powers at present, the United States and the People’s Republic of China, have recently been engaged in a major trade dispute, pressuring each other with sanctions– yet they have never considered severing relations.
Egypt’s foreign policy needs to focus on strengthening relations with all regional states, including Turkey and Qatar. We should advance our bilateral relations through political and economic themes that are of added value to both parties, genuinely offering the services of our talented diplomats and intelligentsia to help resolve some of their present challenges. Such an approach will give Egypt the political leverage needed to strengthen its regional standing, which might help us address the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam crisis more productively, for example.
Egypt refrained from forming any kind of relationship with Iran, a country that is eagerto reach out to us. Allowing Iranian tourists to visit Islamic sites in Egypt, something the Iranian regime has been yearning for, would give Egypt additional leverage (an initiative that might take place after getting rid of Covid19). Meanwhile, enabling Qatar to better operate its investments in Egypt would reflect positively on our foreign direct investment as well as reduce unemployment, whereas decelerating Qatari investments in Egypt will not have a significant effect on this small wealthy nation. A similar approach needs to be applied vis-Ã -vis Turkey by integrating it in the exploitation of East Mediterranean natural gas reserves.
For better or for worse, in the present era – and especially after the Arab Spring – no single Arab political force will be able to govern exclusively and simultaneously realize internal stability! Even if this were to happen, it could never (as we wish) be permanent. National security would be better served by maintaining constructive relations with our neighbors through building bilateral relationships that offer an economic and political interest to both parties. Additionally, as long as we decline to apply liberal democracy, we can expect political Islam to last for years to come in our region.
Some argue that Egypt has managed to build a coalition against the spread of regional Islamic forces. Perhaps, but we can’t sustain a given political proposition forever, especially when we have curtailed our regional capabilities to advance our political interests. Moreover, Egypt’s relationship with its closest allies might be vulnerable; having alternative pillars that we can rely on would constitute a strategic advantage. Egypt needs to develop a dynamic foreign policy that works to win the hearts and minds of its neighbors– a proposition that will also advance its relationships with western nations.
