Analysts: Egyptian Troubles at Home Hinder Diplomacy Abroad

December 18, 2012

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi's first months in office have descended into a profound sense of internal division, overshadowing what began as an attempt to forge new international alliances.

Egypt's domestic troubles have eclipsed what some saw as a promising start for President Mohamed Morsi on the world stage.

Just a day before he kicked off a crisis by granting himself extraordinary powers, Egypt basked in its resurgent role as a diplomatic player, brokering a truce between Israel and Palestinians in Gaza.

Foreign affairs efforts

The November cease-fire brought to new heights Morsi's foreign affairs offensive, highlighted by trips to Beijing and Iran just two months into his term.

"At the beginning he was clever to choose China and Iran to visit in order to say, 'I am independent of Western interests and American interests,' " said Mustafa el Labbad, director of Al Sharq Center for Regional and Strategic Studies.

In Beijing, Morsi deepened political and economic ties, which were small but symbolic counterweights to Egypt's decades of tight cooperation with the United States.

The Iran visit marked the first by an Egyptian head of state since Iran's Islamic revolution in 1979. But Morsi, who leads a mainly Sunni nation, held his own by lashing out at Tehran's support of the Syrian government, run by Shi'ite offshoot Alawites.