The Conference of Istanbul and the Covenant of Fair Play

04The Conference of Istanbul and the Covenant of Fair Play

• France realised that England wanted to take Egypt for itself alone and occupy it, so it took the initiative of inviting the Great Powers to a conference on the Egyptian question.
• England, Germany, Italy and Austria agreed, and the conference met at Istanbul, in the Ottoman capital, at the Italian embassy (June 1882).
• Those present concluded the Covenant of Fair Play: they undertook that none of them would act alone on the Egyptian question — whether by occupying part of its territory or obtaining a particular privilege not enjoyed by all the states.