Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is currently advancing an initiative to establish a “joint Arab force” that would be capable of operating similarly to NATO and defend any Arab state under attack.
The initiative is being reconsidered in light of preparations for the Arab-Islamic summit scheduled to take place Sunday in Doha.
According to the Lebanese Al-Akhbar newspaper, the proposal was first presented in Egypt about nine years ago, and Cairo is now seeking to revive it. According to a senior Egyptian official, “Egypt places great hopes on advancing the operational path for this proposal,” though he acknowledged that significant obstacles remain, including questions about the timing of intervention and how the force would be deployed.
It was further reported that Egypt is formulating a mechanism that would allow the use of the force if necessary, with its composition to be determined according to the population size and military strength of the Arab states, and while taking political and regional balances into account.
Cairo seeks to maintain central control of the initiative, offering a secondary position to Saudi Arabia or another Gulf state.
As part of the initiative, Egypt is proposing to contribute some 20,000 soldiers from its army to the joint force, aiming to accelerate its development and equip it with advanced weaponry. Under the proposal, the force’s commander would be either the Egyptian Chief of Staff or an officer at the rank of general.