His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, attended last evening (Friday), a seminar titled: “Readings in the book: “Witness on War and Peace” presented by Dr. Ahmad Abu Al Ghait, former Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs. The seminar was part of the cultural program of the 33rd Sharjah International Book Fair held at the Expo Center in Sharjah.
The seminar was also attended by HE Mohammed Ahmed Al-Murr the UAE's Federal National Council, HE Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qassimi, Chairman of Sharjah Media Corporation and Sharjah Media Center, Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairperson of the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq), HE Sheikh Salem bin Abdul Rahman Al Qasimi, Director of the Office of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah, HE Dr Anwar Mohammed Gargash. Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Abdul Aziz Bin Othman Al Tuwaijri, Director-General of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (ISESCO), Abdullah Al Owais, Chairman of the Department of Culture and Information in Sharjah, Obaid Saif Al Hajri, Director of ISESCO Regional Office in Sharjah. , Ahmad Bin Rakkad Al Amiri, Director of the Sharjah International Book Fair and members of the public, media and fair visitors.
At the onset of the seminar, Ahmad Abu Al Ghait spoke about the circumstances that surrounded the writing of both books: “Witness on War and Peace” and “My Testimony” saying that he decided to dedicate his time to work on them three months after leaving his job in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 5th of March 2011. He said that his book “Witness on War and Peace” discusses the diplomatic process and its relationship with war in order to reach a political goal, adding that he personally believes that politics and diplomacy are two sides of the same coin.
“The book doesn’t document the October war, but documents what I saw, heard and lived through my job. The idea came about when I knew that the war was going to be a reality so I decided to record all the details of the sessions, meetings and communications in little notebooks so that it will remain in the memory of future generations,” he said, adding that exactly 41 years ago on the 7th of November 1973, Henry Kissinger, the former US Foreign Secretary, met for the first time with former Egyptian President Anwar Al Sadat and they agreed on resolving the American-Egyptian dispute and to gradually solve the conflict with Israel.
Abu Al Ghait added that before the 1973 war, Egypt worked hard on convincing the United States to resolve the conflict without the need to opt for a military solution but Israel continued to be adamant in its policies despite the declaration of the 242 UN Security Council resolution in November 1967 asking for the withdrawal from lands occupied in the latest conflict.
Abu Al Ghait emphasized that the Arab countries supported Egypt during the war and he praised the stances taken by the late King Faisal and Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan.
At the end of the seminar His Highness Dr. Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi thanked Abu Al Ghait for his presentation and asked about the role of Egypt’s chief of staff Saad Al Din al Shazly during that time. Abu Al Ghait confirmed that there was a historical disagreement between Al Shazly and Mohamed Hafez Ismail, the Egyptian president’s advisor for National Security, adding that Al Sadat decided to retain both Al Shazly and Ismail especially since the latter had a great military mind.
Abu Al Ghait also had a book-signing session during the fair for his book “Witness on War and Peace.” In the first part of the book, he writes about situations that he has lived through, during his work with Mohamed Hafez Ismail for two years. In those two years, he witnessed how Egypt prepared for the war with Israel. He also narrates the details of the war and the negotiations that followed. In the second part of the book, Abu Al Ghait wrote about the behind the scene incidents of the peace process with Israel since he was asked in 1977 to join a workforce dedicated for that particular portfolio.