Egypt to focus on cooperation with Italy
After months of a quid-pro-quo attitude between Egypt and Italy, Egypt's legislators have decided to use a carrot instead of a stick to resolve ill will over the slaying of Italian student Giulio Regeni.
Tension between Italy and Egypt has escalated in the months since an Italian graduate student who disappeared from Cairo was tortured and killed, with both sides taking part in a series of retaliations. This week, however, the Egyptian House of Representatives decided to switch gears and take a less disruptive approach to resolving the controversy.
A special committee that was formed to follow up on the murder of Giulio Regeni — comprising members of parliament's defense, human rights and foreign relations committees — recommended July 18 that any future measures taken should employ “calm parliamentary diplomacy” instead of “confrontational diplomacy.”
Late last month, the Italian parliament passed “Regeni’s Amendment,” which accuses Egypt of failing to cooperate in the case, and voted not to provide Egypt with spare parts for its F-16 warplanes. In its first official reaction to the decision, Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement July 6 expressing regret that Italy had passed the bill. The ministry said, “This escalation is not consistent with the current level of cooperation between the investigation authorities of the two countries since the accident was discovered. It also contradicts the mutual goal of countering terrorism, as it [the decision] will have a negative impact on Egyptian capabilities.”
The July 6 statement also indicated that “the last few months witnessed mutual visits between the Egyptian and Italian investigation authorities, as Italy received hundreds of documents and dozens of files related to the outcomes of the investigations, which the Egyptian authorities carried out with full transparency and cooperation.”
