It is not uncommon for the interests of one Arab country to run counter to those of another. This does not, however, necessarily signify the existence of serious disputes between the two countries. The interests of Arab OPEC members might be against the interests non-oil producing Arab countries. This does not mean that one Arab country will take up arms against another or violate the decisions taken at an Arab summit meeting.
For the past year, newspapers have been publishing rumors about continuing disputes between Arab countries — between Saudi Arabia and Egypt, Egypt and Libya, and Syria and Jordan. All this without producing any evidence to prove their arguments.
Some newspapers have been minutely analyzing Saudi-Egyptian relations with the aim of finding evidence for a reportedly deepening crisis between the two countries. These newspapers have attempted to present such issues for disagreement as those related to the venue of a recent Arab summit, relations with Iraq and finally, the Arab peace initiative. In general, the media find it easy to advance a hypothesis first and then dish out a number of events to persuade people to believe that the hypothesis is reality. On the other hand, a writer should first present events and then reach a logical conclusion. He may argue that Saudi-Egyptian relations are at its best because of certain facts. Among them:
The foreign country where the highest number of Egyptians work is Saudi Arabia; Saudi tourists prefer to visit Cairo more than any other place. The trade between the two countries is very high in comparison to other Arab countries. The foreign relations of both countries are virtually the same.
On the other hand, if a writer wants to argue that both these countries are hostile to each other, he points at the reduced number of official visits between the two countries. He also points at some alleged disagreements.
Now the pertinent question is the real state of relations between the two countries. Is it progressing or weakening?
In my opinion, Saudi-Egyptian relations are neither at an all-time high or an all-time low. They are instead somewhere in between. They are within the reasonable limits of mutual agreements and disagreements. The politicians on both sides are careful to steer clear of issues that might endanger healthy economic and neighborly relations. Disagreements and good relations run on parallel lines in such a way that the disputes never endanger the basic good relations. Whenever a disagreement in one area arises, it is not allowed to seep into others. The best relations between nations basically spring from mutual trust. This has unfortunately almost vanished between most countries. The present tendency of overdramatization is to present a simple issue — such as denying the entry of a truckload of onions — as the tip of a huge iceberg which is about to sink many ships. It seems to me that relations between Saudi Arabia and Egypt are both progressive and strong despite what might be rumored about them in the media.
