Amb Hareedy:Egypt, U.S. in concerted effort amid challenges

Ambassador Hussein Hareedy, Former Assistant to Foreign Minister, said that the Egyptian-American relations for the past four decades was on the right path

Ambassador Hussein Hareedy, Former Assistant to Foreign Minister, said that the Egyptian-American relations for the past four decades was on the right path although there have been ups and downs in the relations with various administrations either Democrats or Republicans, but he stressed that this is “normal”.

In a phone call with (To the Point) programme, Hareedy said that when we talk about the bilateral relations between Cairo and Washington, we have to consider the role played by the American congress to a certain extent in shaping and impacting these relations, adding to that the leading American media particularly New York Times and The Washington Post. They have their impact on the impressions that the American decision makers have of Egyptian policies from time to time, he assured.

The ambassador believed that the connections between the two countries are both stable and improving, suggesting that we should not be sensitive to talk to our American partners about our concerns particularly vis-à-vis the issues related to human rights and public liberties. “We are open, transparent and we have nothing to hide or to fear about”, he mentioned.

The United States has a global strategy whether we speak about former presidents Barack Obama, Donald Trump or even President Joe Biden, Hareedy said, underlining the fact that these administrations stick to that strategy. The difference between administration and another, he illustrated, may fall in the tactics or in the language they use in analyzing or approaching events and developments in the Middle East in general and Egypt in particular.

Egypt has had a common strategic interest since we signed the peace treaty with Israel in 1979, ambassador Hussein Hareedy conveyed, stressing his belief that nothing changed between the two countries. We have to operate and manage our part in this bilateral relation in a very cool and studded manner without being over sensitive to any kind of criticism that may come from Washington, he added.

He is always optimistic about the Egyptian-American relationship regardless of the president or whether he is Republican or Democrat.

Finally, the former assistant to the foreign minister shed light on the new American Administration attitude towards the region. Fortunately, President Biden’s administration revived the two states solution, he mentioned, referring to the Iranian uranium file and fighting terrorism as topics of common concern, in addition to the security of the Gulf region, the Red Sea and the Mediterranean other strategic issues that Cairo and Washington see eye to eye.

(To The Point) is aired weekly on Nile TV International on Tuesday. It is presented by Dina Othman and prepared by Dina Othman and Eman Ghareb. Assistant Director is Yasser Youssef and it is directed by Reda Mansour.