CAIRO: Ahmed Maher, former Foreign Minister stated in Al Wafd newspaper on Monday April 23, that foreign polices all over the world are drawn up by presidents and not foreign ministers.

Maher s statement was made during a lecture held in Alexandria library that discussed Egyptian-American relations.

Maher described the foreign minister s post as a consultant to the president , according to Al Wafd newspaper.

Fayek Fahim, a political analyst, told The Daily Star Egypt that Maher s statement is a reflection of his personality, which Fahim described as dull .

If Maher had a more positive character, he would not have said that, Fahim said.

Fahim indicated that in a democratic country, like Israel or England, foreign ministers play vital roles.

Foreign mnisters in those countries are not required to follow the prime ministers all the time. They can quit if they do not agree with their governments strategies, Fahim said.

However, in developing countries, the situation is different, according to Fahim.

In countries like ours, the president has to do everything by himself, Fahim said.

Fahim said that in Egypt the USA, Israel and Sudan files are handled by the president, because those files are vital to the country s peace and existence .

However, other than those three files, according to Fahim, the Egyptian foreign minister should have a role in informing the president about other countries status as well as working on expanding our relations with different countries around the world.

The Foreign Ministry was not available to comment.