 Complete the following phrase:  Following the granting of the first concession in 1854, Lesseps was in near constant travel to assemble diplomatic approvals perceived as necessary to build the canal from other foreign governments involved. Although the first concession was granted by Egypt, at the time Egypt was an administrative subdivision of the Ottoman Empire, and so Lesseps traveled frequently to the Sublime Porte to make his case to the Grand Vizier of the sultan, Ali Pasha. The Ottoman Empire, although neutral to the idea, were greatly under the influence of the 