For the past three months Egypt has been working around the clock to end the Israeli war against Gaza. It has been just as indefatigable in its efforts to resolve wars in Sudan, Libya, Yemen, and Syria and help bring the latter back into the Arab League.

Egypt has also been engaging in processes to revive relations with Turkey and Qatar at the regional level and, internationally, sustained balance in its relations with the US, Russia, and China.

In the Arab region, Egypt strove to resolve conflicts that emerged this year or carried over from last year, contributing to the search for peaceful solutions in bilateral or multilateral formats. It has communicated with all parties and tried to bridge their differences and participated in regional and international meetings.

It has worked independently or with others to provide humanitarian relief, aid, reconstruction and development assistance, and other forms of support to peoples in conflict or natural disaster zones. Sudan, Turkey, Syria, Palestine, Libya, and Lebanon were among the recipients of Egyptian assistance in 2023.

PALESTINE

Egypt pursued three parallel courses of action regarding the war in Gaza. It campaigned to end the Israeli assault and revive the negotiating process, towards which end it hosted a peace conference attended by more than 30 heads of state. In addition to its drive to bring food, medicine, and other basic necessities to the people of Gaza, Egypt launched a campaign to urge other countries to help the Palestinians as they faced the relentless Israeli assault and acted as mediator alongside Qatar and the US to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas.

Egyptian diplomacy worked to prevent the export or liquidation of the Palestinian cause and to keep the conflict from spreading to other regions. It attempted to build on the desire expressed by world powers to work together to revive the peace process with the aim of implementing the two-state solution. One of the most important accomplishments of Egyptian diplomacy was its ability to shift the American approach to the crisis, securing a commitment from Washington to prevent the illegal expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza into Egypt or any other country. Washington’s acquiescence on this issue was an affirmation of its respect for Egyptian sovereignty and national security needs and an acknowledgement of Egypt’s regional and international influence.

SUDAN

From the outset of the conflict that erupted in April 2023, Egypt has appealed to the two sides —Commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and President of the Sovereignty Council Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and Commander of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti) — to lay down arms and return to the negotiating table. At the same time, it despatched humanitarian relief caravans and hosted 400,000 Sudanese refugees from the war.

President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi hosted a conference for Sudan’s neighbours to explore ways to end the bloodshed in Sudan and prevent the conflict from spilling over into neighbouring countries. The summit reaffirmed full respect for the sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity of Sudan, the principle of non-intervention in Sudanese domestic affairs and the need for foreign parties not to intervene in the conflict which could hamper efforts to contain it.

SYRIA

Following the devastating earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria in February 2023, regional powers leveraged the collective humanitarian spirit to conclude a rapid succession of visits, meetings, and agreements aimed at reducing regional tensions. Starting on 28 February, President Bashar Al-Assad received, in turn, the Egyptian foreign minister, an eight-member parliamentary delegation and then the foreign ministers of Jordan and the UAE.

Egypt was among the strongest advocates of restoring Arab-Syrian relations to their pre-2011 level and welcoming Syria back to the Arab League. In early May, Syria was reinstated in the Arab League, ending a nearly 12-year hiatus. Two months later, on 26 June, Syria appointed an ambassador to Cairo.

LIBYA

The direct impact of the Libyan crisis on Egyptian national security forced Egyptian foreign-policy decision-makers to focus on ways to restore stability in Egypt’s eastern neighbour. Egypt’s approach was anchored in a set of cardinal principles which include support for legitimate institutions, the need for Libyan stakeholders to commit to a political solution, securing borders and monitoring the activities of terrorist organisations operating in Libya.

Egypt underscored the need to unify efforts, safeguard the integrity of the political process, and ensure regional and international peace-making efforts do not attempt to impose unilateral arrangements or agreements.

On 9 November, Egypt brokered a meeting between the Speaker of the Libyan House of Representatives Aguila Saleh, and the head of the High Council of State Mohamed Tekala, in the framework of ongoing consultations between the two officials. Saleh and Tekala reviewed the latest developments and agreed to continue consultations aimed at reaching a solution to the crisis that meets the aspirations of the Libyan people.  

The year also saw Libya suffer a natural disaster. In the aftermath of hurricane Daniel, which struck northeastern Libya on 10 September, President Al-Sisi expressed Egypt’s solidarity with Libya and rushed in emergency relief, medical supplies, search and rescue teams, and other urgent assistance.

THE US

Close and stable relations between Egypt and Washington have remained a constant over successive US administrations, with military cooperation a cornerstone in the bilateral relationship. Such cooperation is indispensable to maintaining regional balances, especially between Arab and non-Arab regional powers, on which regional stability hinges. Washington sees Egypt as a dynamic political player in the Arab, Mediterranean, and African spheres and a partner in de-escalating conflicts.

Egypt and the US were among the first powers to try to defuse the crisis in Sudan. When Cairo announced plans to host the summit of Sudan’s neighbours on 13 July, the US immediately issued a statement supporting Egypt’s efforts.

Egypt supported the mediating initiative jointly pursued by Saudi Arabia and the US, known as the Jeddah Platform. The talks, hosted in Jeddah, brought together representatives of the SAF and RSF.

The fight against terrorism has long been a priority of the Egyptian-US relationship and questions of democracy and human rights would often arise in their dialogue on this issue. The new Egyptian strategy to advance human rights was a major step in this regard. A response to domestic dynamics and considerations of national interest, it will have a positive impact on Egypt’s relations with the US.

This year, the situation in Gaza and, before that, events in Jenin, foregrounded Egypt’s regional weight. Egypt and the US have been coordinating closely since day one of the Hamas offensive against Israel. On 8 October, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri discussed with his US counterpart Antony Blinken the need for an immediate ceasefire.

RUSSIA

In the last 12 months Egypt-Russia relations have progressed on the political, economic, military, and cultural levels. The two countries’ views converge on major regional and international issues, from terrorism to Arab causes which Russia has consistently advocated. The growing friendship was reflected in the exchange of official visits, the last of which was President Al-Sisi’s visit to Russia on 26 July to attend the second Russian African Summit and meet with President Vladimir Putin to discuss ways to boost the bilateral relationship.

Cairo and Moscow have been in constant communication: most recently President Al-Sisi received a phone call from President Putin to discuss regional issues and the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Russia sees Egypt as a pivotal player in the Middle East and North Africa and, as such, improving relations with Cairo has been high on its list of regional priorities. Egypt views Russia as a desirable partner for a number of reasons. Their outlooks on many issues are similar and they share common interests in Libya, Syria, and Sudan. Russia is important to Egypt as a source of wheat and other commodities as well as tourism while Russia imports many agricultural products from Egypt. By last August, the volume of Egyptian-Russian trade exceeded $3 billion. They are also engaged in joint projects, including the Dabaa Nuclear Plant on the North Coast.

In keeping with Egypt’s pursuit of balanced foreign relations, Cairo has called for a halt to the Russia-Ukraine war and urged the resumption of negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv while Russia has called for an end to the Israeli war on Gaza and supported ceasefire resolutions in the UN Security Council and General Assembly.

CHINA

Egypt’s relationship with China received a huge boost in 2023 as China became Egypt’s foremost trade partner and Egypt became China’s third largest trade partner in Africa.

Egypt has supported China diplomatically at the UN on several important initiatives while China has supported Egypt in the face of many challenges, from terrorism to foreign intervention in Egypt’s domestic affairs. Like Russia, China supports Arab causes and has worked to help Palestine, Syria, Libya, and other Arab countries by using its sway in international forums and access to modern technologies. Cairo and Beijing have remained in close contact since the outbreak of the war against Gaza. China agrees with Egypt on the need to establish a sovereign, independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

TURKEY

The year saw a breakthrough in Egyptian-Turkish relations. In July, the two countries restored their relationship to the ambassadorial level, ending a 10-year diplomatic rupture during which the two countries clashed over Libya, Eastern Mediterranean natural gas reserves, and Ankara’s support for the Muslim Brotherhood.

In February, President Al-Sisi phoned his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan to convey his sympathies in the aftermath of the earthquake that struck southwestern Anatolia and northwestern Syria. Al-Sisi phoned Erdogan again on 28 May to congratulate him on his success in winning another presidential term. The following day, they agreed to upgrade bilateral relations to the ambassadorial level.

Despite the decade-long freeze in diplomatic relations between Egypt and Turkey, economic and trade relations were relatively unaffected. According to official figures, bilateral trade during the last six years saw $21.9 billion worth of Turkish exports to Egypt and $12.1 billion of Egyptian exports to Turkey.

Cairo and Ankara have been in frequent communication since the crisis in Gaza erupted. They have agreed to intensify efforts to promote an immediate ceasefire and implement measures to protect civilians and both governments have expressed their alarm over deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Gaza.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 21 December, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly