Twenty-five years after Sadat’s assassination, Egypt has lost its status as leader of Arab world. Its economy is faltering, relations with Washington and Israel are not moving forward,political system is atrophied, and Muslim Brotherhood has not remained idle. Where is Mubarak leading the Land of the Nile? A conversation with former ambassadors.
"“Politically, if Sadat were to open his eyes, he wouldn't recognize Egypt’s position and role, and I think that he would be very dissatisfied,” said Eli Shaked, Israel’s last ambassador to Egypt, in a conversation with Ynet. “Egypt has lost its status as leader and head of the Arab world and as an influential force among Third World countries, non-aligned countries, and even African countries. In the last quarter century it has lost the heavyweight status it had in the days of (Gamal Abdel) Nasser and Sadat. Mubarak’s Egypt is no longer an influential force, and certainly not on the Dark Continent.
“To a large extent, Africa has moved forward and Egypt has been stagnant, that is, has regressed,” Shaked continues. “Politically and even economically, look where South Africa—which abandoned apartheid only in the early 90s—is, where Nigeria is, and where Egypt is. They’ve taken Egypt’s place as the most influential country in Africa.” "
No comments:
Post a Comment