Has Egypt ditched Arab NATO?
Uncertainty surrounds Egypt’s membership in the US-promoted Middle East Strategic Alliance amid the country’s unconfirmed withdrawal from the project.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi visited the White House for the second time and met with his American counterpart Donald Trump on April 9. The next day, Reuters reported that Egypt had pulled out of the US effort to forge the Middle East Strategic Alliance (MESA), known as the Arab NATO. A source familiar with the decision told Reuters that Egypt conveyed its stance to the United States and other concerned parties ahead of a meeting for MESA held in Riyadh April 9.
Besides the United States, the alliance includes Egypt, Jordan and the six Gulf states: Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait. It aims to promote regional stability, security and prosperity through enhanced multilateral cooperation at the political, security, energy and economic levels.
