CAIRO // The likely victory of Abdel Fattah El Sisi in Monday’s presidential election will open the country’s ailing economy to badly needed foreign investment, said the Arab League’s former secretary general.
Amr Moussa, a political adviser to Mr El Sisi who was a presidential candidate in 2012, said he had started talks in recent weeks with European and American firms about launching construction and industrial projects after the two-day vote ends on Tuesday.
In an interview with The National, Mr Moussa also said authorities expected to receive more financial support from GCC states after the conclusion of the second presidential poll held since the 2011 uprising that ended the three-decade rule of Hosni Mubarak.
“I expect more assistance to come shortly,” he said, speaking at his office in central Cairo.
The UAE, along with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, last year pledged US$12 billion (Dh44bn) to Egypt after the army, led by Mr El Sisi, removed Mohammed Morsi from the presidency following widespread protests against his rule.
The interim government installed by the military had to cope with a failing economy as well as growing unrest by supporters of Mr Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood movement and ultimately lauched a crackdown on the Islamists in whichs hundreds were killed and thousands arrested.
Describing the GCC support as coming “to the rescue of Egypt”, Mr Moussa, 77, a respected figure in diplomatic circles who headed the Arab League for 10 years, also said the “country was subjected to bad management that has inflicted a lot of harm on the economy” during Mr Morsi’s year in power.
Under an El Sisi presidency, however, the country would be steered by wise and “firm” hands, he said.
“What Egypt needs is a firm leader … with the background of leadership and working within the state apparatus, not a man without any experience in government,” he said. “That’s why he is my candidate for the presidency.”
During the Mubarak era, Mr Moussa served as Egypt’s ambassador to the United Nations and spent a decade as foreign minister before moving to the 22-member Arab League, which is headquartered in his hometown of Cairo.
Initially considered a frontrunner in the 2012 election, Egypt’s first free and fair election that Mr Morsi won, he fell far short of his competitors, winning just 11 per cent of the vote.
He was drawn to Mr El Sisi early on, he said, around the time of nationwide anti-Morsi demonstrations on June 30 that resulted in the military action three days later.
“I found that the man was indeed very wise, capable of reaching viable compromises to accept the arguments coming from different backgrounds.”
A significant number of Egyptians appear to agree with that sentiment in an election that pits Mr El Sisi against one other candidate, Hamdeen Sabahi, a leftist who also sided with the former defence minister’s decision to oust the Morsi government.
About 95 per cent of Egyptian expatriates voted for Mr El Sisi, according to results released this week. However, a poll by the US-based Pew Research Centre showed the nation more divided with just 54 per cent of respondents looking favourably on Mr El Sisi, while 45 per cent viewed him unfavourably.
Human-rights groups have criticised the government’s crackdown on the Brotherhood, which was branded a terrorist organisation in Egypt after an increase in attacks after Mr Morsi’s removal.
Asked whether this crackdown was excessive, Mr Moussa, who also chaired the committee to amend the Islamist-drafted constitution adopted under Mr Morsi, defended the government.
“Any country, any society worthy of the name and respect cannot accept such chaos, such violence, such a threat to the people and lives of the simple man in the street.
“I as a citizen cannot accept that.”
A number of liberals who initially supported Mr Morsi’s overthrow have had the opposition reaction, including Mohamed ElBaradei, who was appointed vice president in the interim government. In protest at the crackdown, Mr El Baradei quit his post and left for Europe in August.
Yet Mr Moussa has pinned his hopes on an El Sisi presidency, saying that he “decided to support him because I found this is the best way for Egypt to get out of the mess in which we were are in”.
hnaylor@thenational.ae
