US embassy cable - 05CAIRO3774

C O N F I D E N T I A L CAIRO 003774 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/17/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, KDEM, EG 
SUBJECT: EGYPTIAN PRESIDENCY POSTPONES FOREIGN DIGNITARY 
VISITS, INDICATES MINIMAL FOREIGN TRAVEL BY PRESIDENT 
MUBARAK AS ATTENTION TURNS TO DOMESTIC POLITICS 
 
 
Classified by Charge Gordon Gray for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1.  (C) Locally-based diplomats shared recently with us that 
the Egyptian Presidency had quietly and abruptly "postponed" 
long-scheduled visits by the Bulgarian and German Presidents 
due to occur in the coming weeks.  Likewise, as the Egyptian 
leadership begins to turn its full attention to upcoming 
Presidential and Parliamentary elections, President Mubarak 
is expected to make only two foreign trips for the remainder 
of the calendar year (both to Libya;  the first May 16 for an 
African Union Darfur summit and the second in mid-July for 
the African Union's general summit in Sirte).  While Egyptian 
officials contend that the limited scheduling is intended to 
allow President Mubarak the opportunity to "conserve his 
energy," it seems clear that Mubarak will want to be close to 
the action at the start of what is becoming an obviously 
heated and contentious political season. 
 
2.  (C) The Bulgarian Ambassador told the charge on May 8 
that the Egyptian Presidency postponed the May 29 visit of 
the Bulgarian President.  The Presidency reportedly said that 
Mubarak would not receive foreign leaders or make any foreign 
trips until December 15. 
 
3.  (C) In a May 15 discussion, the German Ambassador told 
the Charge that the Egyptian Presidency had called May 10 to 
"postpone" the June 6-7 state visit of German President Horst 
Kohler.  His visit was expected to include meetings with 
civil society figures, the Coptic Pope, the Sheikh of Azhar, 
and other influential Egyptians.  The German Ambassador felt 
that none of these meetings or visits would be particularly 
sensitive or confrontational, but believed the GOE was 
unusually sensitive over foreign visits that had the 
potential to touch on domestic political affairs.  He had 
also heard that no foreign leaders could visit Egypt until 
December 15. 
 
4.  (C)  The Canadian Ambassaor told the Charge on May 15 
that the Presidency had also communicated to the Canadian 
Embassy that a potential visit to Egypt by their Prime 
Minister would not be feasible in early September due to 
plans to hold the National Democratic Party's annual 
conference around that time.  On the other hand, the French 
Ambassador told the Charge (also on May 15) that he had not 
yet heard from the Egyptian side on a planned September 28 
visit by French President Chirac.  He felt that it would be 
awkward for the Egyptians to postpone this visit a second 
time and expressed confidence the visit was still on. 
 
5.  (C) Comment:  In our recent encounters with President 
Mubarak, including an hour-long meeting with Senator Frist on 
May 5, the Egyptian President appeared energetic and 
vigorous.  We have no reason to believe that the slowdown of 
travel announced by the Presidency is related to a decline in 
Mubarak's health.  Rather, we attribute the change in 
official travel by the Presidency entirely to the 
increasingly hectic and contentious domestic file.  End 
comment. 
 
 
Visit Embassy Cairo's Classified Website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/cairo 
 
You can also access this site through the 
State Department's Classified SIPRNET website. 
 
GRAY