Salam Kawakibi

This article originally appeared in Foreign Policy.

Egyptians call their desert country “the protected” (al-mahrousa) in homage to its longevity and the idiosyncratic features that have consistently saved it from destitution: a geostrategic location, Nile-fed farmland, and a stunning array of in situ antiquities. While much has remained unchanged in Egypt since the 2011 uprising, including the authoritarian nature of its government, alarming quantities of the country’s precious agricultural and archeological land have been vanishing to make way for cheaply-built homes of low-income citizens.

When King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and his foreign minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, issued unequivocal pledges of support for Egypt’s military government and its crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood, their move was widely depicted in the news media as a logical extension of the kingdom’s opposition to revolutionary movements in the Arab world. This simplistic view overlooks the fact that Saudi Arabia has responded differently to different uprisings—it supports the rebels in Syria, helped to crush them in Bahrain—and that aligning itself with Egypt’s new rulers could be a risky strategy.

While visiting Dubai, Sharjah, and Abu Dhabi frequently over the past 20 years, I couldn’t fail to notice that the three cities have increasingly, inexorably become a metropolitan area, ever merging as they build and develop in each other’s direction.

This article first appeared in Al-Monitor.

The ongoing confrontation between Egypt’s military and the Muslim Brotherhood has left the country in deep disarray.

Co-authored by W. Robert Pearson, former U.S. ambassador to Turkey. This article first appeared on The Huffington Post.

Decoding Al-Qaeda’s Strategy: The Deep Battle Against America by Michael W.S. Ryan, 2013

The Middle East Institute is pleased to welcome H.E. Ambassador Raouf Adly Saad, former special envoy to Africa of the interim president of Egypt, for a conversation about Egypt’s political transition and future. In light of Egypt’s many challenges, Ambassador Saad will discuss the transitional government’s goals and priorities and offer his insights about how to get Egypt on a path toward economic stability and democracy.

This article originally appeared in The Christian Science Monitor

The American relationship with Egypt needs to change if Washington wants to have substantive influence in Cairo. America’s recent strategy in Egypt has been focused on buying Egyptian compliance through military and economic aid, but it seems to have had little effect.

With the dual announcement this week of the completion of a preliminary constitutional draft by a ten-member committee of experts, in addition to appointments to the quasi-governmental National Council on Human Rights, Egyptians finally have reason to be cautiously optimistic.

Wed, 8/14/2013 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm The Middle East Institute is pleased to welcome H.E. Ambassador Raouf Adly Saad, former special envoy to Africa of the interim president of Egypt, for a conversation about Egypt’s political transition and future.  In light of Egypt’s many challenges, Ambassador Saad will discuss the transitional government’s goals and priorities and offer his insights about how to get Egypt  on a path toward economic stability and democracy.Bios:H.E. Ambassador Raouf Adly Saad served as the special envoy to Africa for Interim Egyptian President Adly Mansour.

Wed, 8/14/2013 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm The Middle East Institute is pleased to welcome H.E. Ambassador Raouf Adly Saad, former special envoy to Africa of the interim president of Egypt, for a conversation about Egypt’s political transition and future.  In light of Egypt’s many challenges, Ambassador Saad will discuss the transitional government’s goals and priorities and offer his insights about how to get Egypt  on a path toward economic stability and democracy.Bios:H.E. Ambassador Raouf Adly Saad served as the special envoy to Africa for Interim Egyptian President Adly Mansour.

Wed, 8/14/2013 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm The Middle East Institute is pleased to welcome H.E. Ambassador Raouf Adly Saad, former special envoy to Africa of the interim president of Egypt, for a conversation about Egypt’s political transition and future.  In light of Egypt’s many challenges, Ambassador Saad will discuss the transitional government’s goals and priorities and offer his insights about how to get Egypt  on a path toward economic stability and democracy.Bios:H.E. Ambassador Raouf Adly Saad served as the special envoy to Africa for Interim Egyptian President Adly Mansour.

Wed, 8/14/2013 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm The Middle East Institute is pleased to welcome H.E. Ambassador Raouf Adly Saad, former special envoy to Africa of the interim president of Egypt, for a conversation about Egypt’s political transition and future.  In light of Egypt’s many challenges, Ambassador Saad will discuss the transitional government’s goals and priorities and offer his insights about how to get Egypt  on a path toward economic stability and democracy.Bios:H.E. Ambassador Raouf Adly Saad served as the special envoy to Africa for Interim Egyptian President Adly Mansour.

Over the past several decades, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been transformed into one of the world’s most robust economies. The key to the UAE’s success has been economic diversification; indeed, oil now accounts for only one-third of the country’s GDP. According to UAE Ministry of Foreign Trade Reports, the value of non-oil exports increased thirtyfold during the period 1981-2009. Dubai accounted for approximately 82 percent of non-oil exports in the UAE in 2010, while Abu Dhabi accounted for 14 percent. In particular, by setting up over two dozen free zones as platforms for nearly all industry sectors, the UAE has become far less dependent on oil.