President Hosni Mubarak's reaction to Tunisia's postponement of the Arab summit re-confirmed Egypt's pioneering and influential role in the Arab world. Gamal Essam El-Din reports Instead of this week's Arab summit, which was supposed to take place in Tunisia, Egypt hosted a mini-Arab summit in Sharm El-Sheikh that included President Hosni Mubarak, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Abdullah Bin Abdel-Aziz and Jordan's King Abdullah. The meeting was the last, but not the least, of a series of tremendous efforts exerted by Cairo over the past week in an attempt to soften the blow dealt by Tunisia's sudden decision not to hold the Arab summit as planned. On Monday Mubarak met Bahrain's King Hamad Bin Eissa and Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal. On Tuesday, he met Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk Al-Sharaa and spoke by phone with many other Arab leaders. Tunisia's abrupt decision to call off the Arab summit in the early hours of Sunday 28 March -- or 24 hours before it was officially due to be held on 29 and 30 March -- came as a major shock to Cairo. Egypt, in particular, was hoping that the two-day summit would ratify a comprehensive agenda aimed at introducing a package of political and economic reforms in the Arab world, as well as contain the Arab anger that had been festering since Israel's savage killing of Hamas's spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin on 22 March. The reform plan was also designed to defuse an initiative -- the so-called Greater Middle East Initiative -- unveiled by the United States. Mubarak's reaction to Tunisia's decision was the first to emerge on Sunday morning. Mubarak said Egypt regretted Tunisia's ambivalent postponement of the summit, and immediately offered to host the meeting in Cairo instead. That offer was quickly presented to the Arab League. When Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Kamal El-Shazli read out Mubarak's statement in the People's Assembly, the MPs in attendance applauded heartily. "Egypt welcomes hosting the Arab summit in its capacity as the country hosting the headquarters of the Arab League," the presidential statement said, further emphasising that the summit's postponement marks a breach of the rule agreed upon by all Arab leaders that they should meet annually during the month of March to rise up to the challenges and responsibilities confronting the Arab world. Mubarak was also interviewed by phone by prominent media mogul Emadeddin Adib. Mubarak said he was taken aback by Tunisia's hasty decision. "I was more shocked that Tunisia gave itself the right to postpone the summit without consulting with other Arab countries," Mubarak said, "so, I decided to move quickly and save the situation. I announced that the Arab summit must be held at the earliest opportunity." Mubarak also expressed astonishment that no sooner had his statement been issued than Tunisia announced that it reserves the right to head the Arab summit. "I did not say let's strip Tunisia of its right to chair the Arab summit," Mubarak told Adib. "I said as long as problems exist, let's meet to solve them. I suggested that Egypt host this meeting because it is the country hosting the Arab League's headquarters. I, however, have no objection that Arab leaders meet in Tunis again as long as they want that to happen." Mubarak also said that during phone calls he received from many other Arab leaders in the wake of Tunisia's decision, he made clear that Egypt viewed differences of opinion as inadequate grounds for the summit to be called off. "These differences are natural, but nothing is intractable. If differences persist, they should be left to Arab leaders to reach common ground," Mubarak said. The presidential statement explained that "it is essential that an Arab summit be held at the earliest time because, given the current challenges facing the Arab world at this crucial stage, we can neither ignore nor defer an examination of a solution." Informed sources expect that Mubarak's intensive contacts with Arab leaders and senior officials will lead to the holding of an Arab summit in the second half of April or the first week of May. The major reason is that both Mubarak and Jordan's King Abdullah will be busy meeting US President George W Bush during the second week of April. Mubarak, who will meet Bush in Texas on 12 April, said that he is constantly consulting with the US president on issues regarding the Middle East, Iraq and reforms. Mubarak discounted rumours that Tunisia's decision stemmed from Tunisian President Zein Al-Abidine bin Ali's recent US visit as well as the fact that Palestinian militant factions like Hamas and Jihad were planning on participating in the summit, in spite of objections by the US. At the People's Assembly, meanwhile, Tunisia's decision was met with much anger and surprise. Ahmed Abu Zeid, chairman of parliament's Arab Affairs Committee, told Al-Ahram Weekly that the ambiguous decision only served to frustrate Arab public opinion. "It was a message to Arab people that Arab leaders are so incapable of sorting out the region's mess that they even failed to meet." Abu Zeid also called the sudden postponement a threat to the Arab League itself. "I believe that President Mubarak's initiative came very quickly and at the right time, primarily to save the Arab League from the disastrous effects of this decision. Egypt, one of the five Arab countries that first established the Arab League in 1945, cannot allow its collapse." Abu Zeid said Mubarak's decision also re- confirmed Egypt's pioneering and influential role. "It is the only country that can stand up to the challenges facing the Arab world during times of crisis. It is the orbit around which every Arab satellite circles." Opposition parties' reactions were more ambiguous. Before the summit was postponed, Wafd Party Chairman Noman Gomaa had urged Mubarak not to attend. According to Gomaa, it was better to call off the summit rather than allow it to fail. "Why should Arab leaders meet for a summit while they are failing to reach a consensus on several basic issues ranging from democratisation to economic integration." Others -- including MPs belonging to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood -- applauded Mubarak's suggestion that the summit be held in Cairo.
