Ahmed Aboul-Gheit's memoirs reflect on Egyptian foreign policy under Hosni Mubarak Former Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul-Gheit has revealed that ex-president Hosni Mubarak was aware of meetings between the United States and Muslim Brotherhood, including frequent visits from Brotherhood members to the US.
Aboul-Gheit also denied there was any tension between former intelligence chief Omar Suleiman and Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, confirming that Suleiman and Mubarak's son Gamal did not see eye-to-eye. However, he refused to speculate on whether Gamal Mubarak was involved in the attack on Suleiman's car during the revolution. 
Speaking to al-Arabiya TV in Cairo, Aboul-Gheit ruled out the possibility of criminal elements being involved in the death of Omar Suleiman, and said that after his failure to secure candidacy for president, his health deteriorated due to heart problems.
Aboul-Gheit, who recently wrote his memoirs entitled: My Testimony, which discloses information about Egypt's foreign policy under Mubarak, said that the United States was committed to stopping any violence against the demonstrators in Egypt. He also revealed that Mubarak was "very calm" when he was told about "January 25 demonstrations," putting this down to the ex-president's experience in dealing with crises and problems.
The ex-minister explained that Gamal Mubarak was at Ittihadiya presidential palace in the build-up to the revolution, from January 25 to the day his father stepped down on February 11. "He also had a clear point of view, but we could not ascertain whether he was running things," he said.
Aboul-Gheit also ruled out the possibility that Field Marshal Tantawi was sacked by Mubarak before he stepped down, adding that Omar Suleiman told him that the former president wanted to hand power to the Field Marshal, an idea he was not open to. "Suleiman called Tantawi during a cabinet meeting and told him that the armed forces will manage the country during the transitional period. Tantawi did not like that arrangement, so Suleiman asked the former president to inform Tantawi himself," Aboul-Gheit said.
Speaking about recovery of funds stolen from Egypt and deposited abroad, Aboul-Gheit said that the Foreign Ministry had received a list of names which was handed to embassies and banks in a bid to get the money returned to Egypt. He added that several institutions responded with information and the ministry was able to obtain a court judgement to prove that the money was illegally held, according to Egyptian law.
Aboul-Gheit said that he has never accused the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of delay in recovering funds, explaining that the ministry is doing it "quickly and accurately."