Egypt's new president Mohamed Morsi's decision to attend the next meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement, to be held in Tehran at the end of this month, has provoked widespread speculation. If, as some commentators believe, Morsi is seeking to restore relations with Iran ruptured in 1980, when President Anwar Sadat recognized Israel, then it must be hoped that his mission will be successful, though it must be approached with caution. Yet it is entirely possible that improving relations with Tehran is only a side issue for Egypt's new leader. After all, did he not deny news reports in June that he planned to seek a rapprochement with Iran? He even went so far as to say that he was going to sue the Iranian news agency that had published the news, after he had given one of its reporters an interview? It could be, of course, that the remark was made off-the-record to the Iranian journalist involved, because at that time, the newly-elected president did not wish to antagonize the Egyptian military. If this was the case, then it was an error of judgement. Some would argue however, that even giving an interview to the Fars news agency, was an indication of itself that Morsi was already set on easing the 32 year-long stand-off with the Iranians. So, if resuming a dialog with Tehran is only part of Mursi's intention, then the other part is surely to reassert Egypt's role in the Non-Aligned Movement, of which the Kingdom is also one of the 120 member countries. Egypt was after all, along with India, Ghana, Indonesia and the-then Yugoslavia, a founder of the NAM, which sought to set an even course between the Soviet Union and the United States and their respective allies, during the doctrinaire confrontation of the Cold War. The NAM survived the end of the superpower rivalry between Moscow and Washington. Now that Vladimir Putin's Russia is seeking to provide an altogether more bearish and assertive counter-balance to US influence around the world, a new and subtler role is emerging for the movement. It remains to be seen how the NAM's Iranian hosts will seek to steer the six day summit, the first since 2009, which was held in Egypt at Sharm El-Sheikh. If Tehran tries to hijack the event, to push its support of Syria and to justify its refusal to abide by its treaty commitment, to permit the International Atomic Energy Agency to mount an unhindered inspection of its entire nuclear program, then it may be that the summit will not even run its full course. Hopefully, however, wiser counsels will prevail, not least because the Chinese, who have NAM observer status, are likely to want the meeting to be a success. Morsi is almost certainly of putting down a marker that Egypt wishes to reassert its role in global politics and sees the NAM as a key part in this new policy. It would be a great pity if the Iranians sacrifice this opportunity to advance the movement's core mission, while at the same time, re-building fences with Cairo.
