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Nabil Fahmy Describes Egypt-US Ties as 'Vital’

Egypt’s former foreign minister Nabil Fahmy (File/Reuters)
Egypt’s former foreign minister Nabil Fahmy (File/Reuters)
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Nabil Fahmy Describes Egypt-US Ties as 'Vital’

Egypt’s former foreign minister Nabil Fahmy (File/Reuters)
Egypt’s former foreign minister Nabil Fahmy (File/Reuters)

Egypt’s former foreign minister Nabil Fahmy described the Egyptian-US relations as “vital” throughout modern history, citing Cairo's pioneering role at the regional level and Washington's leadership at the global level.

His remarks came during the signing ceremony of his book dubbed “Epicenter of Events…Egypt’s Diplomacy in War, Peace and Transition” at the American University in Cairo, where he currently serves as the Dean of School of International Affairs and Public Policies.

Speakers at the event included Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, former secretary- general of the Arab League and former Egyptian foreign minister Amr Moussa, Director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina Mostafa El- Feki, Chairman and Founder of Dar El Shorouk Ibrahim al-Moallem, AUC President Ahmad Dallal, and other senior diplomatic figures.

His book covers an Egyptian diplomatic era, with its regional and global interactions over four decades of his public service in the offices of the Egyptian Presidency as a career diplomat.

He served as policy advisor to the Foreign Minister, ambassador to Japan, and was appointed as ambassador to the US for nine years before leading Egypt’s foreign policy as foreign minister in 2013-2014.

Fahmy said he visited Moscow in 2013 and met his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov at the time and told him that Cairo does not intend to replace the US with Russia but rather aims to expand the circle of its international partners and diversify its options to preserve the sovereignty of Egypt’s decisions.

He stressed that “misunderstanding” in relations with major powers is more critical than differences in positions.

Commenting on the peace process, Fahmy said the Palestinian cause is no longer on the international community’s agenda, even before the Russian war on Ukraine.

He called for engaging multiple parties in sponsoring the global peace process, urging Palestinian parties to unite and learn a lesson from the Israelis who put aside their fundamental differences and united to topple Benjamin Netanyahu and keep him from forming a government.

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Arab World

Sudanese Stakeholders Hold Roundtable Talks in Geneva

A previous meeting of the coordination of Tagadum with the officials of the African Mechanism in Addis Ababa. (Tagadum on Facebook)
A previous meeting of the coordination of Tagadum with the officials of the African Mechanism in Addis Ababa. (Tagadum on Facebook)
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Sudanese Stakeholders Hold Roundtable Talks in Geneva

A previous meeting of the coordination of Tagadum with the officials of the African Mechanism in Addis Ababa. (Tagadum on Facebook)
A previous meeting of the coordination of Tagadum with the officials of the African Mechanism in Addis Ababa. (Tagadum on Facebook)

Geneva has hosted a third “roundtable” of meetings involving Sudanese political and civil groups aimed at bridging the gap between the country’s warring parties. These talks, coordinated by the French organization Promediation, follow similar meetings held previously in Cairo and Geneva. The primary goals are to negotiate a ceasefire and facilitate humanitarian aid to civilians.

The two-day meetings, which began on Monday, include representatives from the Coordination of Democratic Civil Forces (Tagadum), the pro-army Democratic Bloc coalition, and armed movements aligned with the bloc. However, some groups have announced their boycott of the meetings.

The Democratic Bloc has shown conflicting stances on attending the Geneva talks. Mohammed Zakaria, spokesperson for the bloc and a member of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), announced his group’s decision not to participate.

Omar Khalafallah, a leader in the Democratic Unionist Party and another bloc spokesperson, refuted Zakaria’s statement, insisting that the bloc would attend the meetings to promote a national vision.

A source within the Democratic Bloc told Asharq Al-Awsat that the meetings revealed significant internal divisions in the coalition. The JEM, led by current Finance Minister Jibril Ibrahim, appears to be charting its own course, which the source described as a form of defection.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Sharif Mohammed Osman, a leader in Tagadum and the political secretary of the Sudanese Congress Party, explained that the meetings seek to achieve consensus on ending the war through negotiated solutions, starting with a humanitarian truce to ensure aid delivery and the opening of safe corridors.

These measures are considered preliminary steps toward a ceasefire and a peaceful resolution to the conflict, he underlined.

A wide array of civilian leaders are participating in the talks, including key figures from Tagadum, such as Sudanese Congress Party leader Omar Al-Dukair, Federal Gathering Party leader Babiker Faisal, and head of the Sudan Liberation Movement – Transitional Council Al-Hadi Idris.

Osman expressed optimism that the participants would issue a unified final statement addressing the peaceful resolution of the war and agreeing on a humanitarian truce to facilitate aid delivery.

In October, Cairo hosted a similar meeting, which resulted in a final statement signed by the participating groups, except for the Sudan Liberation Movement – Minni Minnawi faction and the JEM – Jibril Ibrahim faction, which refused to endorse the Cairo declaration despite attending the discussions.

Promediation, a French organization supported by the French and Swiss foreign ministries, has played a consistent role in Sudanese affairs. Since June 2022, it has organized roundtable discussions, initially focusing on negotiations between Darfuri armed movements before expanding its scope to include Sudanese political and civil forces in the wake of the war.