Ahmed Aboul Gheit
From AICbackground
Ahmed Aboul Gheit
Foreign Minister of Egypt
You are Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Foreign Minister of Egypt. Your position, one of the highest in the Egyptian government, helps to shape Egypt’s foreign policy. As foreign minister, it is your goal to promote political and financial relations with neighboring countries. Ultimately, your goal is to see that Egypt and the neighboring area remains a peaceful local so that the political, economic and social level of your country may advance.
"I have to answer the question. What are we doing with the Palestinians? We have been in touch with the Palestinians, working with them trying to stabilize the situation. We are insisting also that the Israelis when they will implement their withdrawal, it has to be a full and complete withdrawal from the whole of the Gaza territory. We are insisting also that it has to be connected to the Road Map, and there it is crucial that a connection between the withdrawal from Gaza and the implementation of the Road Map in its full specter. Egypt is ready to build up the Palestinian infrastructure to manage itself and to, sort of, enforce itself on the scene inside Gaza. We trust that the agreement between the chairman, Chairman Arafat and the prime minister will have a chance for implementation."
"Within a single civilization there are various faiths and languages. Each civilization has to eliminate the idea of superiority and to understand acceptance rather than rejection because of different convictions or lifestyles. The international community must understand that religion can not be used as a pretext for confrontation among people. Religion has to be a driving force for dialogue and coexistence."
"There is a kind of willingness and determination to pursue the peace process and to prepare the ground for the withdrawal of the Israeli forces from Gaza and the Egyptian initiative to be implemented towards helping that withdrawal."
"The Hamas which works in the political framework through parliamentary work is completely different from the Hamas which adopts armed struggle... We believe that Hamas joining the political process will lead to a fundamental change in its thinking and its premises."
Early Years and Education
You were born in Heliopolis, Cairo, Egypt in 1942. After marrying Laila Kamal Salah, with whom you would eventually have two sons, and attending the Ainshams University where you received a degree in economics, you would soon be on your way to a long and successful career in government.
After graduating from college in 1964, you joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Egypt) one year later. By 1968, you became Attache-Third Secretary at the Egyptian Embassy in Cyprus where you served until 1972. In 1972, you became a member of Staff of the Advisor to the President on national security affairs. Two years later, you became the Second-First Secretary at the Permanent Mission of Egypt to the United Nations. After your first stint with the U.N., you became a counselor for the Cabinet of the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Special Aid in 1977. Two years later in 1979, you were given the opportunity to provide political counsel for the Embassy of Egypt in Moscow. Throughout the 1980’s you spent much of your time offering political advice to the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Egypt, the Prime Minister of Egypt and then again, you served under the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Egypt. You also spent time as a deputy representative of Egypt to the United Nations. During this time period, you were able to gain the exposure and experience you would eventually need later in life. In 1991, you became Chief of Cabinet of the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Egypt. Keeping in line with your interest in foreign policy/relations, you became Egypt’s ambassador to Italy, Macedonia, San Marino and representative to FAO in Rome from 1992-1996. When returning to Egypt’s government in 1996, you successfully managed the position of Assistant Foreign Minister of Egypt for three years. In the same year, you became Egypt’s permanent representative to the United Nations. Following the logical succession of your career, you became the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Egypt in 2004. Your good friend, President Hosni Mubarak awarded you with this position after Ahmed Maher, the previous Foreign Minister, became ill. With forty years of diplomatic experience (domestic and international) under your belt, Mubarak believed you were the perfect man for the job.
Domestic Issues of Concern
You love Egypt, everything about it. You want Egypt to be a pillar of strength and tranquility in the Middle East. You want Egypt to be a financial center in the Middle East. You want Egypt to be a place of the arts, of innovation, of democracy. One of your main goals for Egypt is for the country to undergo a process of modernization. You appreciate America’s help (financial and military) in Egypt’s renewal, however you warn that Egypt is a country that must undergo this process at its own pace without the impatient encouragement that the United States (for example) has offered.
‘We are working in the development of a democratic society in Egypt. We have a process, and the process is under consideration. The Egyptian society is engaged in a very wide debate whether to amend constitution, whether to change constitution, how the borders are established, the relationship between the parties themselves, how Egyptian citizens are sort of participating in a political process. It is a very vibrant process that is taking hold in the Egyptian society.’
When dealing with the domestic issues of Egypt, the Egyptian society is a society ‘eager to develop, to build institutions, to project progress, prosperity, education, democracy, the rule of law, human rights and the liberalization of the Egyptian economy.’ At the same time, you realize that Egypt may not be ready for this globalization do to the nature of your nation’s position in the Middle East. Some citizens within your Egyptian community are unsettled by the Arab-Israeli conflict as well as the ‘phenomenon of globalization.’ Your advice remains to let Egypt to its own devices, let her do as she pleases without any outside influence. Your main focus for Egypt is development, the eradication of poverty and an increase in foreign investment in the Egyptian economy. Your goal is seriously address poverty in Egypt and you have set a target date of the year 2015 when you hope to eradicate this problem. You have also reiterated the importance of exerting collective efforts to create an international environment that helps promote action by developing nations and that contributes to the inflow of foreign investments.
Foreign Relations
Aside from Egypt’s internal issues, you deal with many of Egypt’s external issues. Your ultimate goal is to achieve regional stability throughout the Arab world. You are focused on various issues in Africa, Sudan and the development of Iraq. Egypt continues to contribute regularly to UN peacekeeping missions, most recently in East Timor, Sierra Leone and Liberia. You take pride in the fact that Egypt approaches its foreign relations with peaceful goals. You also want Egypt to develop, in collaboration with the Arab States and all the other Parties, a joint and comprehensive concept of regional security and arms limitation. ‘It has been our hope to pave the way for a new understanding among the states of the region on dealing with the questions of regional security in the Middle East and on the future of the region. Among those steps are the initiation of regional negotiations on the tenets of the establishment of a nuclear weapons free zone in the Middle East, the declaration by the states in the region of their commitment to adhere to the international instruments on the non-proliferation of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons with in a specified timetable, and the adoption by Israel and the States of the region of confidence-building measures in the nuclear field.’ Dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and reaching a settlement of the problems in the Middle East are, however, most important to you. Egypt has a special stance on this incredibly controversial issue because you are, in effect, allied with both sides. You recognize both Israel’s and Palestine’s needs and desires for their own nations. You believe Egypt’s view on the Middle East is the most impartial for this reason. You recently sent troops to the Gaza Strip in order to facilitate stability following Israel’s withdraw from the territory in 2005. You also stationed some troops in the area during the Palestinian parliamentary elections of January 2006. Your response to the Hamas victory in this election was one of skeptical optimism. You believe that Hamas’ newly acquired access to the political arena will give them reason to cut down on violent attacks and will hopefully promote fundamental change within the belief system of this radical group. Your relationship with the United States has been and will continue to be friendly. Based primarily on a shared mutual interest in Middle East peace and stability, the strength of this relationship has been reinforced by years of working together to promote harmony in the Middle East. You agree with many of the same principles that form the framework of American foreign policy in the Arab world, principles which mesh with your own agenda. Your two nations are both allied in the process of stabilizing the Middle East as well as in ‘the war on terror.’ Although the United States pours financial and military assets into your country every year, you have no problem presenting opposing opinions to America. You believe, for example, that U.S. foreign policy is slanted toward the Israelis, and that it would be unwise to have the United States at the forefront of the conflict in the Middle East if the goal is to cease violence. You feel Egypt is best suited to pave the way for peace in the Middle East. Nonetheless, you are appreciative that America has given Egypt the chance to modernize and develop by supplying your country with monetary aid, security assistance, and more technologically advanced military equipment.
Role Playing Notes
You are a bright, educated man who has dedicated your life to government. The development of Egypt, on its own terms, is at the forefront of your domestic agenda, while extinguishing the fire in the Middle East is the main priority of your international program. You have only recently (2004) been appointed as the Foreign Minister of Egypt, and you have a massive burden on your shoulders. By maintaining good relations with both the Israelis and the Palestinians, you may be the perfect intermediary for this most controversial conflict. You have also demonstrated your ability to stand by your beliefs by publicly criticizing certain aspects of American foreign policy. Peace in the Middle East is your main priority and you are prepared to defend whoever is willing to help make this dream a reality.
References
http://www.cityofmind.com/peace/gheit.htm
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/middle_east/jan-june05/eygpt_2-15.html
http://www.mfa.gov.eg/mfa_portal/en-gb/about_the_ministry/historical_view/ahmed+aboul+gheit.htm
http://wireservice.wired.com/wired/story.asp?section=Breaking&storyId=1147731
http://www.blinkbits.com/blinks/Egyp
http://workingpapers.org/country/egypt.htm
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/1999/19990602.BIO3230.html
