IN three months in office, Egyptian President Muhammad Mursi has sought to “reshape” diplomacy, while trying to attract foreign investment necessary for the recovery of post-revolt Egypt.

Shuttling between Beijing, New York, Brussels and Ankara, the Islamist leader has hammered his goal of restoring Egypt’s “rightful place,” particularly on key Middle Eastern issues such as Syria and the Palestinian question.

With a desire to distance himself from his pro-Western predecessors Anwar Sadat and Hosni Mubarak, he has slammed what he says is Egypt’s “marginalization” in recent decades.

“There is a lot of movement on the international scene, but with inflections rather than radical changes” that would cause alarm abroad and discourage investors, said Mustafa Kamel Al-Sayyed, professor of political science at Cairo University.

Mursi has bluntly called for the departure of the Syrian regime, initiated a dialogue with Iran which had been broken for 30 years but without restoring full diplomatic relations, resumed relations with Turkey, and visited Beijing with great fanfare.

No trip to Washington — a traditional ally of Egypt — has yet been planned.

Relations with Israel are not as comfortable as they were under Mubarak, who was toppled by a popular uprising last year, but Mursi said that a revision of the 1979 peace treaty with the Jewish state was not currently needed.

“One of the main goals of Mursi is to reshape the image of himself as an independent president, democratically elected by the Egyptians,” said Khalil Al-Anani, Middle East expert at Britain’s Durham University.

“He is trying to invest in the historical credentials of Egypt. He is very preoccupied by the nationalistic and patriotic character of Egypt,” Anani told AFP.

The five-point plan set by Mursi for his first 100 days in office made no mention of foreign policy, focusing more on everyday life: rubbish collection, improving the country’s notorious traffic situation, providing bread for the poor, resolving the fuel crisis and restoring security. The president received more praise at home for his statements on Syria and his pro-Palestinian stances at the United Nations, than for his uncertain efforts to tame the chaotic traffic in Cairo.

“There is a lot of pressure to change foreign policy, which many Egyptians felt had deteriorated under Hosni Mubarak, with a loss of influence and excessive dependence on the United States and Israel,” said political analyst and columnist Hassan Nafea.

In August, Mursi succeeded in resolving a row the powerful military with which he was involved in a power struggle. But he governs a country still fragile, with a dissolved Parliament, a constitution in limbo and an economic crisis.

Turbulence with Washington following protests over an anti-Islam film outside the US embassy in Cairo have shown that Egypt under Mursi remains under scrutiny.

A member of the US Congress has frozen $ 450 million in funds earmarked for Egypt, stressing that the proposed aid “came at a time when the Egyptian-American relations are subject to unprecedented scrutiny.”