After Saudi Arabia, US invites Morsy
By NVONews.Com Correspondent,
Cairo/ Washington: Within days of his election President Mohamed Morsy of Egypt started getting invitation from the countries with which the relationship of Muslim Brotherhood was not at all cordial.
First it came from Saudi Arabia, where he will be paying visit on Wednesday. Then on Sunday came the invitation from the United States of America.
According to Yasser Ali, the aide of President Morsy, he has been invited in September, that is when he would be there to attend the United Nations General Assembly meeting.
So if the programme materializes he would be meeting Obama at the fag end of his first term as presidential election is due on Nov 6.
The invitation reportedly came after the US deputy Secretary of State, William Burns, met Morsy in Cairo on Sunday.
Burns pledged US support for Egypt’s economy and said he welcomed Morsy’s promise to uphold international treaties, which include a peace deal with Israel. Washington provides $1.3 billion a year in military aid as well as other assistance.
Incidentally Burns precedes a visit to Egypt on July 14 by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Till the overthrow of the Hosni Mubarak regime Egypt was considered among the closest allies of the United States. Now that the Islamists have come to power the US administration is fast devising a plan to live with them, rather than antagonize them further.
The United States is well aware of the changing realtiy in the region and does not want Egypt to become another Iran in the region.
In the same way Saudi Arabia, which is feeling somewhat isolated, is too trying to mend it fences with Egypt. It was only in April last that it called back its ambassador from Cairo following a protest demonstration by Brotherhood supporters after the arrest of Egyptian human rights lawyers in Saudi Arabia.
Cairo too knows the importance of Gulf nations as lakhs of Egyptians are employed there. Remittance money is very important for the Egyptian economy.
Morsy will have to do a lot of tight rope walking at least in his initial months till he consolidates his position. The army, whose proclivity to the US is a known fact, has not given all the power to him. Besides, he won election by a small margin and had to depend on the support of pro-Saudi Salafis.
So these influences are going to play their role in shaping the foreign policy of the country in the initial months.
The Brotherhood would not like to see Egypt looked like an international pariah and would play its card well. They know the Islamic importance of pact with any country. After all they understand that scrapping it after 33 years is not going to serve any purpose.
The meeting with Obama would more be a symbolic gesture than anything else. Still it has its importance as there is likelihood of the Democrats returning to power.
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