The family photo of world leaders at the annual meeting to discuss the climate under the auspices of the UN is scheduled for Monday, November 7, in Sharm El-Sheikh. It’s a classic exercise, but it takes on another flavor in Egypt: COP27 should illustrate the country’s international role, which the official media have been highlighting for weeks. The snapshot is welcome as the country sinks into an economic crisis, stoking concern and discontent.
President Abdel Fattah Al-Sissi will be surrounded by a hundred heads of state and government, according to Cairo. To the relief of the authorities, the new British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak reconsidered his decision not to make the trip; it would have been perceived as a boycott, while King Charles III will not come. Emmanuel Macron will be present. US President Joe Biden will arrive on November 11.
Former Marshal Sissi, who rules Egypt with an iron fist, has personally invested in the preparation of this COP, visiting various capitals, ahead of the summit. Egypt aims to strengthen its stature as a mediator – a role it plays on the regional scene, without the same influence as before. At the COP, she will represent the voices of Africa and will make it a priority to obtain progress on financial reparations from North to South, in compensation for the damage caused by global warming by industrialized countries.
The authorities, annoyed that the international media focus on human rights violations, also intend to win in terms of image. “The message sent on the internal scene is that Egypt is a power whose leaders receive the support of major international players. In the direction of foreign countries, the regime wants to show that it continues to embody stability, while presenting a beautiful image of the country, with its tourist sites and its environmental rules adopted in Sharm El-Sheikh…”analyzes Mustapha Kamel Al-Sayed, professor of political science at Cairo University.
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To tell the truth, Sisi’s power does not have to fear that its ties will weaken with its Western allies, who express public support and make the choice, on the question of political prisoners, of the “private diplomacy”. The country is notably a good customer of the French arms industry. Against the backdrop of the energy crisis linked to the war in Ukraine, the European Union is betting on Egypt’s growing role as a gas hub. She also signed, Sunday, October 30, with Cairo, an agreement for a “border management program” – modest term to designate the fight against immigration that Brussels does not want, while the number of illegal departures of Egyptians from neighboring Libya is on the rise.
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