Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi told a gathering of Arab foreign ministers on Wednesday that he wanted to revive Egypt’s pivotal role in the Arab region after the country had been “marginalised.” Morsi told ministers at the Arab League headquarters that he wanted Egypt to “regain its natural place in the Arab world, contributing to help its people build a bright Arab future.” He said that Egypt had “unfortunately been absent from Arab work for a while.” “We return from this marginalisation, where we have lived in recent decades, back to Egypt’s natural historic role,” Morsi said. Since his election in June, Morsi has sought to redefine Egypt’s diplomatic path, taking a strong stance on the Syria conflict and visiting Iran and China, both rivals of Egypt’s traditional ally the United States. Morsi lashed out at the Syrian regime during a speech at the summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in Tehran last week, calling it “oppressive” while publicly urging support for rebels seeking President Bashar al-Assad’s ouster.
Morsi wants central Arab role for Egypt
