The “U.S. Tone” in G8 Declaration

The G8 Summit was recently held in the French coastal city of Deauville. After the summit, the eight countries published the 18-page Deauville G8 Declaration, in which leaders of these eight countries expressed their considerable attention to the situations in western Asia and northern Africa. The declaration emphasizes “our commitment to support democratic reform … peace, stability, prosperity, shared growth and development” and covers the G8’s decision to financially assist countries in these areas. “[M]ultilateral development banks could provide over $20 [billion], including €3.5 [billion] from the EIB, for Egypt and Tunisia for 2011-2013 in support of suitable reform efforts.” According to the news, after leaders of the eight countries met with leaders of Egypt, Tunisia and other African countries on May 27 at noon, Tunisian Minister of Finance Ayed revealed that French President Sarkozy had proposed increasing the amount of aid to $40 billion.

On May 24, the World Bank announced an offer of $6 billion in loans to Egypt and Tunisia to support governmental budgets and to encourage private investments, as well as to attract foreign investments.

President Obama’s new thoughts on policy in the Middle East imbue the above claims of the G8 Summit. On May 19, President Obama made his second speech on Middle Eastern policy since his inauguration. During his speech, Obama clearly stated that the U.S. would request that the World Bank and IMF take measures to “stabilize and modernize the economies of Tunisia and Egypt … and support the governments that will be elected later this year.” Conspicuously, the G8 Summit makes concrete Obama’s policies. Especially from the U.S. attitude toward Egypt, we can easily discern the U.S. government’s political goal: The U.S. can lose Mubarak but can never lose Egypt. Therefore, the U.S., hoping for close cooperation with the new Egyptian government, has put Egypt on its “road map” to enable Egypt to make a smooth transition.

Currently, the political situation is not stable. Incessant mass demonstrations, wide-ranged religious battles, unscrupulous robberies, prison breaks, a declining economy — numerous public complaints continue to occur. According to Egypt’s minister of finance, since the unrest began, economic losses have reached $3.5 billion dollars, of which $2 billion has been lost from tourism. If the chaos continues, Egypt’s economy will finally collapse. However, Obama’s new strategy can stabilize Egypt and let it follow the track planned by the U.S. with the G8’s financial aid. As the “big brother” in the Arab world, Egypt will serve as the best example for other Arab countries if the planned track is successful.

At the summit, the host, French President Sarkozy, was very active and accumulated much political capital. However, in actuality, he had only a minor role. Through the G8 Summit, people witnessed the U.S.’s leading role and also heard the echo of Obama’s new thoughts on the Middle East in Europe.

Liu Baolai is the former vice president of the Chinese People’s Institute of Foreign Affairs.