The Press WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 1952 Egypt’s External Affairs

Press, Volume LXXXVIII, Issue 26886, 12 November 1952, Page 8

The Press WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 1952 Egypt’s External Affairs

3ln the last few weeks General | Naguib has found time and oppor--5 tunity to turn from internal affairs | to questions of Egypt’s external 5 policy; and there is a good deal of ? satisfaction to be taken from his 3 general attitude. Largely because it 3 has been exploited by politicians 11 for advantage in internal politics, 8 j fulfilment of Egypt’s two “ national 3i “ aspirations ” —the evacuation of , the canal zone and the unity of the 5 Nile valley—is deeply ingrained in j Egyptian thought. Even if General 5 Naguib and the military junta he ! heads wished, they could hardly > disregard sentiment about the . “ national aspirations ”. In a speech t to students at Alexandria, General , Naguib showed that he does not do j so. He spoke firmly about sparing ’ no efforts “ till Vie last foreign “ soldier leaves our soil ”, and doing , obeisance to the “ national “ aspirations ”, spoke of never deviating from this “ sacred alm ”. But the tenor of General Naguib’s words was altogether different from the sound and fury of such leaders as Mustapha Nahas, who declaimed against the British “ enemy ”. The r difference is even more marked in * attention General Naguib has been . giving recently to thfe other “ national aspiration ”. An agreement reached in Cairo last month between the Egyptian Government and certain representatives of Sudanese political parties aiming at independence marks a change in Egypt’s attitude to Sudanese national aspirations. There are passages in the agreement that are ungracious comment on the proud part Britain r has played in the Sudan in the last ;50 years. Nevertheless, it is a remarkable change for any Egyptian statesman to give Britain even the benefit of a doubt; this General Naguib does by agreeing that a , proposition that has British blessing t —the Sudan Government Statute—--lis a disinterested and forward looking piece of policy. General ( Naguib has conceded—and this is the I essence of the agreement—the ' right of the Sudanese to selfdetermination. He hopes they will decide for close association with Egypt, but through General Naguib Egypt no longer asserts that the Sudanese have no choice. General Naguib has treated as if it never happened the Wafdist Government’s abrogation of the Anglo-Egyptian condominium and the formulation of a constitution for the Sudan which j vested all authority in Cairo. The i i effect is to make Anglo-Egyptian , co-operation in the Sudan possible < once more. There are still obstacles j to overcome, but a common objec- j tive is restored and a much better '■ atmosphere created. General j Naguib’s new concern with external 1

affairs extends to Arab League affairs, and particularly to the League’s interest . in the West German-Israeli compensation agreement. The League resents an agreement which compensates a State sheltering many Jews driven from their homes in Europe, while that same State, the Arab League holds, is responsible for having driven many Arabs—who are living in squalor as refugees—from homes in Palestine. The League is intensely suspicious about the compensation agreement, fearing that it would strengthen Israel’s military position vis a vis that of the Arab States. Britain’s position between the two parties is difficult and delicate. Both Britain and Egypt have made gestures of goodwill recently, Britain agreeing to release £5,000,000 from Egypt’s blocked sterling balances, and Egypt by agreeing to pay compensation to the British victims of the “ Black “ Saturday ” riots. But Egypt’s goodwill gesture was accompanied by an expressed hope that Britain would reciprocate by supplying the Egyptian air force with some jet military aircraft. No doubt, Britain would help with the modernisation of an Egyptian air force committed to the combined defence of the Middle East; but it would certainly require to be assured that the purpose of bringing Egypt’s air force up-to-date was not to fight or intimidate the Israelis. The several points of external policy that are now receiving General Naguib’s attention will substantially influence Egypt’s relations with other countries. The course the military junta plans to follow and the course it will find politically expedient to follow are unknown. But at present General Naguib’s attitude does inspire more hope than there has been for a very long time for fruitful co-operation between Britain and Egypt.