Relations with Egypt The arrival of the High Commissioner for
Egypt, Sir Miles Lampson, in this country is a matter of some importance, for though Sir Miles is coming primarily on leave, he will certainly discuss the Egyptian situation fully with the Foreign Secretary and perhaps other members of the Cabinet. And the fact that in his absence his place at Cairo is to be filled temporarily by Mr. Maurice Peterson, head of the Egyptian Department of the Foreign Office, means that the Foreign Office will enjoy the advantage on Mr. Peterson's return of first- hand familiarity with. the situation on .the spot. There is, it is true, no Egyptian situation in the sense of any crisis or impending crisis, but relations between this country and Egypt will never be . what they should be until the four reservations by which Egypt's independence is qualified are finally liquidated. How that task may best be approached is a subject to which no doubt Sir Miles Lampson and Mr. Peterson are already giving and will continue to give their minds. But there is a commercial as well as a political aspect to the Egyptian question. This country takes a good deal of Egyptian produce, primarily, of course. cotton, but including fruits and other products, and Egypt imports more from Britain than from any other country. That is satis- factory as far as it goes, but there is room for considerable expansion on both sides and attention may well be turned in this direction while the solution of political problems is still pending.
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