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Egypt’s Interest in Iraq, Iran Is Economic, Not Ideological

Despite the concerns of Gulf states that Egypt’s recent rapprochement with Iraq, and by extension Iran, is founded on an ideological basis, experts assert the reason is purely economic, Abdelrahman Youssef writes.
Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi (R) greets Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki before the opening of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit in Cairo February 6, 2013. Leaders of Islamic nations called for a negotiated end to Syria's civil war at a summit in Cairo that began on Wednesday, thrusting Egypt's new Islamist president to centre stage amid political and economic turbulence at home. REUTERS/Egyptian Presidency/Handout (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVI
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With the end of the Arab summit in Doha two days ago, many observers are studying the new balance of power that is changing by the day, especially among the major Middle Eastern countries such as Egypt, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, in light of the Arab revolutions’ repercussions in them. The ongoing Syrian revolution against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime made great diplomatic strides when Syrian oppositionist Moaz al-Khatib sat on Syria’s seat at the summit.

Among the relationships that may affect the course of events is the one between Egypt and Iraq. Ever since the Egyptian prime minister, accompanied by a delegation of businessmen, visited Baghdad in early March, there has been a lot of talk about the future of that relationship and how it will impact the region. Both of these countries are major players in the region and have rich history and governments with religious roots. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is considered the strongman of Shiite Iran, while Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi comes from the Sunni Muslim Brotherhood. In addition, both of those countries have large populations and share economic ties. The number of Egyptians who work in Iraq once reached 5 million.

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