Tony Blair denies signing as economic adviser for Sisi

Middle East Envoy Tony Blair - Photo by Shutterstock

In a statement on his website, former British Prime Minister and Middle East Envoy Tony Blair has denied reports by the Guardian that he had accepted an advisory position for Egypt's current President AbdelFattah ElSisi.

Blair's statement read:

"The story is nonsense and we have told them so. Tony Blair is not a formal advisor to Sisi he has simply said that it is vital for Egypt, the region and the world that the new President and his Government succeed in reforming their country and taking it to a better future and that the international community supports them in doing so. He has said this publically on a number of occasions and also stated he would be happy to help galvanise that support if he can.

This is nothing to do with ‘business opportunities’ and we have absolutely no idea what correspondence the Guardian is referring to. Let me be very clear – neither Tony Blair, nor any of his organisations have any commercial interest in Egypt, nor are they seeking business in Egypt, nor have they ever discussed doing business in Egypt. This is simply incorrect.

What is true and we have made categorically clear is that there is no commercial interest in, and absolutely no intention to make money from, Egypt."

The Guardian had reported on Wednesday that Blair "is to give Sisi advice on "economic reform" in collaboration with a UAE-financed taskforce in Cairo" - a story that was picked up by other news organizations. They added that the deal was "part of a programme funded by the United Arab Emirates that has promised to deliver huge "business opportunities" to those involved".

However, the spokeswoman of Tony Blair told the Guardian that "[Blair] is giving advice, he will have meetings, that's all," adding that he "is not a formal adviser".

Critics had slammed Blair's involvement in Egypt's economic decisions.

Photo by Shutterstock - www.shutterstock.com.