Egypt’s relations with Iran won’t be at Saudi Arabia’s expense, confirms Arab League’s new head

While Egypt will look to establish a healthy relationship with Iran, it won’t be at the expense of its relations with the Arab Gulf countries, said Egypt’s foreign minister, Nabil Al Arabi, who was sworn in as the Arab League’s chief on Sunday.

Mr. Arabi was in Saudi Arabia on an official visit when his Arab League appointment was announced. He replaces his compatriot Amr Mussa, who served as the league’s top man for 10 years. Mr. Mussa is said to harbor ambitions to run for the Egyptian presidency.

“Relations with Iran won’t be at the expense of Egypt’s relations with the Arab Gulf, or on their expense of security and stability,” he said during his meeting with the kingdom’s foreign minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, in Jeddah, adding that Cairo is working for to improve its relationship with Tehran.

Egypt received a $4 billion aid package from Saudi Arabia to help its economy deal with the economic downturn brought on by the political situation in the region. Egypt’s tourism industry, which accounts for a large part of the country’s economy, has been badly hit by the chaos sparked by the Arab Spring.

Mr. Arabi, 75, was a former ambassador to the United Nations and is an expert in international law; he worked at the International Court of Justice from 2001 until 2006.

As a young diplomat, he was part of the Egyptian team that concluded the peace deal with Israel in 1978-1979.

On March 6, he was appointed foreign minister in Prime Minister Essam Sharaf’s cabinet. One of the first actions he took as foreign minister was opening the Rafah border crossing with Gaza; he also helped broker the reconciliation of Hamas and Fatah.

(Dina Al-Shibeeb, a senior editor at Al Arabiya English, can be reached at: [email protected])