Egypt's President Morsi to visit Gulf soon

UAE officials reportedly invite Morsi to visit the Emirates despite continued attacks on Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood by Dubai's outspoken police chief Salah Abdel-Maksoud, Egypt's minister of information, announced during his Monday visit to the UAE that President Mohamed Morsi would soon undertake a tour of the Gulf. Abdel-Maksoud added that Morsi had received an official invitation from UAE President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan to visit the country, and another from Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohamed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum to visit the UAE's showcase city. The minister, a member of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, made the announcement at a meeting with members of the Egyptian expatriate community at the Egyptian consulate in Dubai. Abdel-Maksoud also said that leading Dubai officials had told him that negative statements by Dubai officials about Egypt and its new president did not reflect the UAE's official position, in reference to recent statements by Dubai Police Chief Dhahi Khalfan. Khalfan caused a diplomatic row between Egypt and the UAE this summer when he accused the Brotherhood of "treason" and "attempting to destabilise the Gulf." Khalfan has since continued to criticise the group's activities – both in Egypt and the region – following the recent election of the Brotherhood's Morsi to the Egyptian presidency. The Brotherhood, which has representation in dozens of countries around the world, is officially banned in the UAE. In recent months, UAE authorities have arrested 60 members of the Islamist Al-Islah group, who now face charges of "founding an illegal organisation with links to foreign groups." In March, Khalfan had claimed that "Western intelligence agencies" had informed him that the Brotherhood was conspiring to overthrow Western-backed governments of the Gulf. From ahramonline