Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said his country has been able to shift from the stage of regaining balance to restoring influence.
Egypt has become an influential party in the region. It draws its red lines to maintain regional balance and avert chaos, he wrote in an article published by Al Siyassa Al Dawliya (International Politics) Magazine on the occasion of the centenary of the establishment of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The stability and comprehensive development in Egypt has been consequently reflected in its wise foreign policy, Shoukry added.
The ministry reopened on March 15, 1922 after being forced to shutdown in 1914 following the declaration of the British protectorate in Egypt.
“Celebrating the centenary holds many connotations in the march of national independence and the subsequent building of the Egyptian state with the help of its loyal sons.”
The FM reviewed landmark events in the history of the Egyptian foreign ministry throughout the past 100 years, including “the strenuous efforts of Egyptian diplomacy in wake of the 1956 tripartite aggression, the October 1973 war and the return of Taba city under Egyptian sovereignty in 1989.”
A reading of these events reveals that Cairo has always ensured stability is achieved in its surroundings through its balanced moral policy.
“Egypt has always sought to cool the hotbeds of tension, defuse crises and work to consolidate the pillars of peace,” Shoukry wrote.
Cairo’s diplomacy is based on pursuing diverse paths, following the principles of mutual respect and equality, refusing to interfere in other countries’ internal affairs and respecting their sovereignty and the independence of their political decisions, he noted.
