Israel-Egypt relations advance in baby steps
Cario's openness to warming bilateral ties with Jerusalem has been limited, but recent progress might signal that even Cairo understands that times have changed.
Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen came back to Israel March 9, after two days of visiting Sharm el-Sheikh in the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula. Cohen met with his Egyptian counterpart Nasser Fahmi and with other senior Egyptian intelligence officials to discuss a series of security issues, including Egyptian efforts to increase the security of Sinai resorts so tourists will return.
The visit was exceptional not only for its length and publicity, but also because the delegation also included several Israeli businesspeople, senior figures in Israel’s food, tourism, agriculture and energy industries. The inclusion angered Economy and Trade Minister Amir Peretz, who was apparently not consulted beforehand. It appears that Israel’s ambassador to Egypt Amira Oron was not consulted either.
The Israeli businesspeople met with several heads of Egyptian companies hoping to enter the Egyptian market. Bilateral trade currently concerns low-tech industries such as construction and textiles, and Israel the economy department at the embassy in Cairo is working diligently to change that.
There was a concrete change in commercial ties last week. Reports from March 5 revealed that the Egyptian national carrier Egyptair had submitted a request to operate Tel Aviv-Cairo flights. The company reportedly plans to operate 21 weekly flights on the route. Until the COVID-19 pandemic, flights between Tel Aviv and Cairo were operated on the Egyptian side by Air Sinai, a subsidiary of Air Egypt with a single airplane company established in the framework of the 1979 Israel-Egypt peace treaty. It flew with no logos or flag.
