CAIRO: Egypt is aggressively pursuing closer relations with its traditional Asian allies, India and Pakistan.
Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit met with the countries foreign ministers earlier this week to sign separate cooperation agreements to boost trade, investment, and cooperation.
Although Egypt will remain largely dependent on the United States and Europe, according to Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies researcher Dr Emad Gad, Egypt is trying also to find new alternatives for political reasons.
Aboul Gheit first met with Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri on Dec. 15 in the second session of the Pakistan-Egypt Joint Ministerial Commission in what he said represented a qualitative shift in bilateral relations between the countries. Five Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) were signed, especially focused on bolstering trade and investment.
It was the first time the commission meets in 11 years. Gad told The Daily Star Egypt that the political atmosphere and Egyptian readiness were not there before.
The situation in Pakistan is very risky for Egyptian national security, he said, citing Pakistan s links with Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. But now, he says, Egypt is ready to warm up to relations with Pakistan.
The MoUs address cooperation of Foreign Service academies, abolishing the visa for diplomatic passport holders, establishing a joint Business Council, and a five-year cultural exchange program.
The Business Council will involve businessmen from the banking, telecommunication, engineering and electrical fields with the intention of promoting economic and trade cooperation between the private sectors of the countries.
A source from the Pakistani embassy emphasized a strong religious and touristic component to the cultural exchange, with many Pakistanis coming to Egypt to attend Al Azhar University or visit cultural sites, and some Egyptians studying in Pakistan. He added that Pakistan offered beautiful and historic sites.
Nadeem Hotiana, a representative from the Foreign Affairs office in Islamabad, told The Daily Star that Kasuri remarked that the two sides discussed enhancing defense ties. According to Hotiana, he also said that Pakistan was becoming self-sufficient in the production of armaments, and hoped that the armed forces of both countries would collaborate with each other in the defense sector.
One day later, Aboul Gheit met with rival country India s foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee, as the Fifth Session of the India-Egypt Joint Commission was convening, to boost bilateral cooperation in the fields of culture, education, and science and technology.
In addition to a new Partnership Agreement, the countries signed an Executive Program of Cultural, Educational and Scientific Cooperation and an Executive Program of Science and Technological Cooperation.
In the field of agriculture, a Work Plan for 2007-8 was finalized between the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and the Agricultural Research Center and the Egyptian Ministry of Agricultural and Land Reclamation.
A source from the Indian embassy told The Daily Star Egypt India and Egypt were natural partners, and that recent developments were inevitable because of the countries similarities, such as large populations, recent liberalization, and financial growth.
Al Ahram Center s Gad confirms that Egypt has historically been closer to India than to Pakistan. He does not believe though that conflict between the countries will affect Egypt s individual agreements with each.
According to a statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, trade exchange between Egypt and India reached $1.5 billion by the end of 2005. Trade exchange with Pakistan reached just $148 million, which Kasuri stated was too little to the economic potentials of the two brotherly countries. Investments between businessmen reached $2.8 billion.
Representatives from the Indian and Pakistani embassies told The Daily Star that Egypt s agreements with their rivals would have no effect on their own relationships with Egypt.
All the foreign ministers also discussed Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine. Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf also stressed that Islamic nations should stand by each other.
The next Pakistan-Egypt Joint Ministerial Commission is set to take place in 2007.
