Soft diplomacy and the Saudi-Egyptian friendship bond

Dr. Ibrahim bin Abdullah Al-Mutraf

Friendship associations, regardless of their goals, sizes, and specializations, are one of the soft forces that play a major role in building bridges of cooperation and developing relations between countries and peoples, culturally, economically, politically, socially, and otherwise.

These associations have become active in recent years, including in their membership senior diplomatic and public figures, and they now have a lot of flexibility that may not be available to official bodies, especially diplomatic representations, which are governed by international norms and conventions.

Friendship societies are far removed from the sensitivities in dealing that these conventions generate, because friendship societies have “no relation” at all to those norms, conventions, and sensitivities. Their role is limited to presenting opinions and ideas that may help support and strengthen relations between countries, and therefore, they contribute to formulating the policies of the countries they represent, in accordance with developments in reality and international politics.

But associations that seek to link a group of countries on the one hand and a state on the other hand are defeated

Usually broader activities. There are associations that are more comprehensive in the nature of their tasks, as they specialize in relations between two geographical regions, for example. But the goals remain similar, as all associations work to consolidate and strengthen relations between member states within that association.

Strategically, “Friendship Societies” aim to mutually introduce communities, develop relationships, encourage trade exchange, consolidate cultural relations, encourage tourist visits, and organize activities and events aimed at holding exhibitions, seminars, and conferences that develop relationships and strengthen friendships.

In view of what Saudi historical relations represent with the international community, we believe that there is a need to establish a mechanism to consolidate civil relations between the citizens of the Kingdom and others, and I believe that the appropriate mechanism is “friendship associations” that represent a bridge of communication, associations for the establishment of which have many justifications, which can result in many positives, the most prominent of which is support for the insightful national vision, which calls for strengthening and strengthening civil relations with others, which is the positive orientation of the Saudi political leadership, which prompted the writer to move forward with the project of the “Saudi-Egyptian Friendship Association” and through an article in the newspaper Al Jazeera, to the people of thought and opinion in the two countries, to seek their insights and benefit from their advice.

The writer hopes that friendship societies will maximize the benefit of expanding the circle of communication between societal segments, enhance openness, achieve cooperation, and develop support that supports the Kingdom’s directions, policies, and efforts in improving relations between it and the international community. This means that the “Friendship Society” can help create a mechanism through which citizens, with their various components, communicate with their counterparts in different countries of the world.

Since the thing is mentioned, the best example of associations whose activities are limited to two specific countries is the “Saudi-Egyptian Friendship Association,” which the writer strives to put into practice with the support of a group of former statesmen, academics, intellectuals, and press and media men from the two countries.

The enthusiasm for establishing the association in the recent period was generated by the clearly visible Saudi-Egyptian rapprochement on the one hand, and the reaction of those concerned and specialists in Saudi-Egyptian affairs, to the commentary article that he published under the title “The Saudi-Egyptian Model in International Relations” on the other hand, in which intellectuals, former statesmen, academics, media professionals, and journalists called for action to establish the aforementioned friendship association, because of its interest and benefit to the two countries and the two brotherly peoples. The writer hopes that the association’s project will see the light in the foreseeable future, with official civil support, “coherent and close,” with God’s help and success.

We conclude by saying that the establishment of the “Saudi-Egyptian Friendship Association” represents “in honor of the 1926 Treaty” signed by the founding King Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman Al Saud and King Farouk, may God have mercy on them, in an effort to consolidate and strengthen relations, the establishment of which will coincide with its “millennium.”

Since the association will be established with sincere and sincere patriotism on the part of those responsible for it, it will increase the channels of communication and sincere interaction between the civil sectors in Saudi Arabia and Egypt, in order to enhance the official historical and strategic bilateral relations, and represent serious and unlimited engagement and interaction, with the malicious employment that harms the two countries, and harms the opportunities for convergence and cooperation.

I swear to God, behind the intention..