Former foreign minister Nabil Fahmi’s Egypt’s Diplomacy in War, Peace and Transition, recently published in Arabic by Dar El-Shorouk, is particularly important and enlightening in view of the sensitive posts Fahmi held during equally sensitive times. He served as Egypt’s ambassador in Washington, our most important embassy abroad, during a period of heightened tensions between Egypt and the US under president George W Bush and, through September 11, until 2008 just before Obama came to power; he also served as foreign minister when all Western countries aligned themselves against the will of the Egyptian people who had risen up to overthrow the Muslim Brotherhood. In both eras, Fahmi applied approaches he had learned from the diplomatic school of his father, Ismail Fahmi, who had served as Anwar Al-Sadat’s foreign minister. Essentially, his initiatives were grounded in awareness of Egypt’s pivotal importance in the region and internationally.

In his book, which is both a history and a memoir, Fahmi recounts how he was shown a copy of the speech that Bush was going to deliver during his visit to Sharm El-Sheikh in 2008. He immediately called the White House to caution that if this was what Bush planned to say when he came to Egypt, it would be better if he did not come at all. Fahmi then informed president Hosni Mubarak of the action he had taken. Mubarak praised the diplomat for his quick thinking which resulted in important changes to the address that Bush delivered at Sharm El-Sheikh.  

Five years later, following the 30 June 2013 Revolution, Nabil Fahmi, foreign minister at the time, was informed that the Americans planned to call for a special session of the UN Security Council to discuss the latest development in Egypt and that this could result in resolutions disadvantageous to the country. He then contacted US Secretary of State John Kerry to ascertain whether the information was correct. Kerry denied that it was and said that France was behind the move. However, the former French foreign minister Laurent Fabius refuted Kerry’s claim and countered that, in fact, it was the US and Britain that were pushing for a Security Council resolution. At that point, Fahmi decided to take the most practical step. Rather than wasting time on determining whether or not Kerry was telling the truth, he contacted Moscow and Beijing, ensuring their veto if the situation came to that point.

Such insights are a rare find in history books which is one reason why Fahmi’s work is so valuable.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 24 February, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.