Egypt is a member of all the influential organizations of the Arab-Islamic world. It is also a member of the League of Arab States (LAS) and the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), not to mention the African Union. Besides, recently Egypt has also become almost the central country in Nicolas Sarkozy's Mediterranean Union. Returning to the "fragmentation" of the Arab world, we should speak of the large number of dialects of the Arabic language, the classic version of which is mastered only by 20% of the half a billion population. Sometimes Arabs of Egypt, Morocco and Turin simply do not understand each other.

In the Armenian-Egyptian relations there has always been some mutual, if I may put it so, sympathy. Probably it was no coincidence that in April of the current year the Arab League adopted a resolution on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, signed by all 23 states, including Saudi Arabia, Yemen and others, clearly sympathizing with Azerbaijan. The resolution clearly stated that the League supports the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group on the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. As diplomatic sources informed, the adoption of this resolution was only conditioned by common sense...

It should be noted that "Arab solidarity" collapses in relations with Israel; however only in Cairo you can find an Israeli Embassy. But, it's quite difficult to travel, for example, to Sinai; you have to pass check-points, observation posts, etc. It is forbidden to take photos in the place, where the Israeli army reached in 1967, during the Six Day War. But on the whole it is rather calm in the rest of Cairo and in the rest of the country. Terrorism and fundamentalism have been put an end to after the assassination of President Sadat in 1981. Moreover, the state of emergency introduced by Gamal Abdel Nasser in 1964 has not yet been cancelled, and anyone can be detained for 15 days without clarification.

As far as regional problems are concerned, according to the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cairo will not accept double standards applied by the West, particularly regarding the nuclear program of Iran. "Israel has a nuclear program and weapons, but I do not remember the IAEA to have sent its experts for examination in the Negev Desert. Like any other country, Iran has a right to a nuclear program, but Tel Aviv believes that it is directed against the Israelis, and therefore she does everything to prevent Iran's access to nuclear weapons, which in our opinion, is destined to failure," says Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt, Head of the Fund of Technical Assistance to CIS countries, Ambassador Samah Sotuhi.

For the country, 95% of which is desert and 40% of whose population lives on 1 dollar a day, the current foreign policy guidance is clear and precise. And though there is such a concept as "Islamic solidarity", it seems to us, the essential point in the policy of Egypt is its own benefit, like any other country, especially those located in unstable regions and having not very adequate neighbors, like Sudan.