Over the past years, it can be observed that many countries in the region have reviewed their foreign policies and attempts to impose Western projects to provoke regional conflict, and during the recent period, opportunities for bilateral and collective rapprochement have improved, and positive developments have led to the formulation of new features of political relations between the countries of the region, but the problem remains that these developments have taken their way without a collective initiative that works to transform what can be described as cold peace in the nature and form of these relations into interactive and vital relations with strategic dimensions.

In the face of Western projects

In its historical depth, regional relations seem to face an important test in the possibility of building a network of collective relations that includes neighboring Arab countries on the basis of grouping interests, as interests converged in thwarting 3 Western projects whose content revolved around provoking regional conflict, in a close period, the United States pushed the project of the defense umbrella for the Middle East (Arab NATO in 2017), which was prepared in the fifties of the last century to integrate Israel into the military patterns of Arab countries, and the perspective of re-introducing it was for the purpose of The American confrontation with Iran.

In the same context, the Donald Trump administration put forward the US peace initiative in January 2020, which is based in its entirety on imposing normalization projects and bypassing the issues of the final solution to the Palestinian issue, and the response of some countries to it posed a challenge to regional security, especially with the emergence of gelatinous ideas about Abrahamism as principles of coexistence or religious overlap. This approach was clearly opposed by Egypt as an abandonment of the terms of a just peace, and Saudi Arabia adopted a converging position of concern about projects that affect the regional security and cultural integrity of Muslims.

The West's attempts did not stop there, but began to think about establishing a new alliance similar to the Baghdad Pact in the fifties of the last century, whose main goal would be to provoke conflict with neighboring countries and overthrow attempts at independence. This time, the draft "Baghdad Partnership Conference" (2021) suddenly appeared under the auspices of France, and despite its exclusion of Israel, it adopted a position to marginalize Iran's role and link it to the conditions of goodwill and credibility towards the files of Syria and Yemen.

In any case, ideas of deepening the penetration of Western projects have brewed, but none of them has seen qualitative progress, on the contrary, faced walls of resistance and a common awareness of their dangers. This realization has been the cornerstone of the positive evaluation of bilateral or collective relations. Especially as the Americans seek to disrupt the political solution in Syria, or scatter it in the case of Libya. Under the constraints of normalization with the occupying entity, the priorities of governments and peoples can be discussed.

The Egyptian experience presents a worthy attempt to stabilize the state of cold peace with Israel, as it was satisfied with stopping the war and establishing diplomatic channels that did not reach the stage of political, cultural and security normalization. The Egyptian perception of peace did not stop there, but it also played a key role in hindering US-Israeli projects in recent years to form a military or security alliance against Iran. Going back to history tells us that this Egyptian approach was also present in old situations, such as when former President Hosni Mubarak rejected Israel's call on Egypt to adopt a common policy against Iran.

The Al-Ula Summit in Saudi Arabia 2020 established a series of reconciliations and settlements that included many countries on the basis of common interests and economic cooperation

Regardless of the absence of objective causes of tension, the motives for regional rapprochement increased in response to US coercion to mobilize against Iran and regional promotion of the Israeli occupation entity, as regional relations tended towards political and economic interdependence.

The impact of the AlUla summit

The holding of the Al-Ula Arab Summit in Saudi Arabia in January 2020 can be considered the most powerful and effective practical step to restore objectivity and interests in regional relations and end the search for antagonistic and heterogeneous axes. The summit established a series of reconciliations and settlements that included many countries on the basis of common interests and economic cooperation, not only mutual visits, but also formed high committees to develop relations in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey and the UAE, which were crowned by the Iranian-Saudi agreement.

In addition to the religious and cultural components, these countries have many features of regional power, the return of which is doubled as Saudi Arabia adopts active diplomacy to be a middle center between Egypt, Turkey and Iran, which helps settle regional disputes and fill gaps in the influence of Western powers, as well as increasing opportunities for interdependence.

The need for a political framework

Regional rapprochements and reconciliations may be sufficient at one point, but they may not suit another, as moving away from tension or avoiding what a cold peace leads to is an important achievement, but it does not reward fluctuations in the international system and the emergence of new challenges such as the ongoing crisis in Sudan. It is therefore necessary to move towards an orderly framework that preserves common interests and can organize and arrange the revolution of regional reconciliation.

This trend must lead to the coordination of relations between several regional organizations such as the Arab League, the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Organization of Turkish States, as there is a need to create a common bond among member states, which has the ability to coordinate and reduce the influence of foreign influence.

However, it is clear from the above that there is a need to move towards a broad framework for pooling capabilities and neutralizing risks, so that the role of the external factor is limited to catalysing in the framework of equal relationships. In this context, it is possible to understand the Chinese policy, which is looking for a position in the political scene that will help it replace its competitors, on the basis of partnership and away from polarization between Saudi supporters and pro-Iranian supporters in the Arab region.

Amr Moussa, former secretary of the Arab League, initiative to establish an "Association of Arab Neighboring States" at the Sirte Summit (Libya) in 2010 represents an appropriate framework for coordinating cross-Arab relations.

Here, the importance of thinking in a form that combines common denominators and interests among the countries of the region, and serves as a forum for discussion, exchange and negotiation on common crises and challenges, and the Saudi-Iranian agreement represents a living experience of the possibility of settling other differences between countries.

The first fruit of the rapprochement of positions between Saudi Arabia and Iran was the idea of Syria's return to the Arab League, and the development of guarantees for the healing of a political solution, reconstruction and the return of displaced persons, in addition to the implementation of Security Council resolutions.

The initiative of Amr Moussa, former Secretary-General of the Arab League, to establish an "Association of Arab Neighboring Countries" at the Sirte Summit (Libya) in 2010 represents an appropriate framework for coordinating trans-Arab relations, as this initiative is commensurate with the ongoing regional developments for many factors, foremost of which is the openness of political relations to neighboring countries and the desire to reach the stage of interdependence, in a way that paves the way for regional integration.

However, rethinking interdependence among Muslim countries helps diversify foreign policy alternatives. In particular, the region faces the same challenges and problems, the most important of which is the loss of confidence in American policy and the growing threat of Israel. Here, this idea works to support the countries of confrontation with Israel and break the wave of normalization, and the Arab League's holding of a meeting entitled "Jerusalem, Steadfastness and Development" last February is an indication of an opportunity to coordinate regional security cooperation.