Online Newsroom: E-Alerts
March 21, 2011
Egyptians took part in an historic constitutional referendum on Saturday, March 19, voting in favor of the proposed changes by a total of 77.2% to 22.8%. 18.5 million Egyptians, or 41.19% of eligible voters, turned out to vote. This total was significantly higher than in recent elections, with many citizens voting for the first time.
Independent election monitors and an increased security presence helped to ensure that the vote was free and fair. Reports of violence and irregularities were minimal, marking an important turning point in Egyptian electoral politics.
The United States responded enthusiastically to the electoral process. U.S. Ambassador to Egypt Margaret Scobey called the referendum “an important step towards realizing the aspirations of the January 25 revolution,” and stated that, “The sight of Egyptians coming forward in unprecedented numbers to peacefully exercise their newly won freedoms is cause for great optimism, and will provide a foundation for further progress as Egyptians continue to build their democratic future.”
The new amendments to the constitution will make it easier for candidates to run in presidential elections, require a new constitution within one year of the next parliamentary elections, reintroduce full judiciary supervision of elections, limit presidents to two four-year terms, require the president to appoint a vice-president within 60 days of taking office, and limit states of emergency to six months before requiring a popular referendum. Egypt is now on track for parliamentary and presidential elections later this year.
January 21, 2011
The Wall Street Journal
by Boutros Boutros-Ghali
January 21, 2011
On Jan. 6, the eve of Coptic Christmas, thousands of Muslims showed up at Mass to act as human shields and show their solidarity with the beleaguered Christian community.
As a Christian and an Egyptian, I was heartbroken by the New Year's Eve terrorist attack on the Coptic Church of Alexandria that killed 21 of my countrymen. Whether this heinous act was carried out by Egyptians or by terrorist groups from outside the country, the intention was surely the same: to sow discord between Muslims and Christians in a country long known for its religious tolerance.
The attack seems to fall within a larger pattern of violence against Christians elsewhere in the Middle East. Indeed, extremist groups that target Christians in Iraq explicitly stated their intention to bring their war against Christians to Egypt.
But while the recent attack led to an outpouring of anger among Copts, Egypt—unlike other countries in the region—has been remarkably immune to the scourge of sectarianism.
The Copts in Egypt are the largest Christian population in the Middle East, and today they make up some 10% of the population. Christians in Egypt exercise their faith freely, and they occupy leading positions in government, business and public life. There's no such thing as "Muslim neighborhoods" or "Christian ghettos" in Egypt.
Egypt's history—a millennium and a half of peaceful Muslim-Christian coexistence, and a civil state-building project that dates back to the early 19th century—has been a model of religious tolerance in the region. That legacy was made clear following the new year: On Jan. 6, the eve of Coptic Christmas, thousands of Muslims gathered around churches across the country to act as human shields, protecting their Christian neighbors during their Mass. This coincided with huge demonstrations during which Muslims and Christians held up the Koran and the cross in unison as a symbol of national unity.
My own family story is a testament to this history. Beginning with the appointment of my grandfather as prime minister over a century ago, my family has been privileged to hold positions of high office as part of a proud tradition of Coptic public service. His sons, my uncles, then went on to join Egypt's independence movement, alongside its leader Saad Zaghaloul.
Still, there's no denying that recent events could mark a turn for the worst. Simmering tensions between Egypt's two main religious communities threaten to permanently erode our historic culture of tolerance.
Egypt is a deeply religious society. Historically an anchor of pluralism, this piety has gradually come to be defined in exclusive terms. On satellite TV and social networking websites, outward signs of religiosity are exploited to erode any sense of national identity.
Improvements in state institutions have certainly strengthened the principle of equality before the law. But the contest for Egyptian identity has shifted to the social and communal realm. This has paralleled an unfortunate failure on the part of religious leaders to emphasize the nearly identical values of mutual respect and human dignity in Islam and Christianity.
The only solution is to strengthen Egyptians' sense of citizenship. It's a goal that I have been deeply committed to as chairman of the National Council on Human Rights, which has already taken serious steps to reinforce the civil nature of the state.
Read the full article here.
January 19, 2011
Financial Times
January 13, 2011
Spanish bank BBVA recently wrote that if the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) were to invite a fifth member to their ranks, Egypt would be a worthy candidate for consideration.
The BRIC countries, who formed an alliance based on their similar stage of newly advanced economic development, recently invited South Africa to one of their summits. However, BBVA believes Egypt is a “far better candidate” for formal BRIC membership than South Africa.
Egypt is expected not only to grow faster than South Africa over the next 10 years, but to overtake it as Africa’s largest economy as soon as 2013.
Egypt is also currently the only African country in BBVA’s group of EAGLEs, or Emerging and Growth-Leading Economies. Egypt is expected to see its GDP grow by over six percent this year.
To read the full story, please click here.
January 12, 2011
SPIEGEL ONLINE
January 12, 2011
Former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, a member of Egypt's Coptic Christian minority, spoke to Germany's SPIEGEL ONLINE about the potential repercussions of the tragic New Year's Day attack on Alexandria's Two Saints Church. In the interview, Boutros Boutros-Ghali discusses whether the recent attack signals a religious war in his country, the true roots of hatred and how the West should react.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Mr. Boutros-Ghali, in the wake of the deadly New Year's Eve attack in Alexandria, have relations between Egypt's Copts and Muslims deteriorated?
Boutros Boutros-Ghali: No. Our ties are far too old to be destroyed. Copts and Muslims have lived together in Egypt for 14 centuries. There have always been highs and lows between the religious groups, but never collective hate toward one another. I'm actually far more inclined to believe that the massacre in Alexandria will strengthen our bonds.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Do you honestly not see any religious tensions in Egypt?
Boutros-Ghali: There is fear and anger, but they are not directed toward Islam or Christianity. On the contrary, all over Egypt, Copts and Muslims have held joint demonstrations against terrorism. It reminds me of the massive demonstrations in the early 20th century, when Egyptians took to the streets together -- under the banner of both the cross and the crescent moon -- to protest the British occupation.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Many view this attack as merely the most dramatic event to date in a new wave of persecution of Middle Eastern Christians.
Boutros-Ghali: That might be true for other countries, but not for Egypt. The Middle East is a powder keg, with very different groups fighting each other. It stopped being about just Christians and Muslims long ago. In Iraq, Sunnis attack Shiites, setting houses on fire and blowing up mosques. But Egypt is different. Here, these two major ethnic groups are far too deeply rooted in our country and connected to its history. Egypt will never experience a civil war.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: The Egyptian government -- and even the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood -- suspect that foreign terrorists were behind the attack. What do you think?
Boutros-Ghali: We don't know if these were foreign or Egyptian terrorists. Either way, it poses a great danger for Egypt. If the perpetrators were Egyptians, it means that a part of the national Islamist scene has radicalized again. But it could just as easily be that foreign jihadists have set their sights on our country. In any case, this act was aimed not only at Copts, but also at the Egyptian government. If we now start talking about a religious conflict, the terrorists will have achieved their goal.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: What exactly do you mean by that?
Boutros-Ghali: The attack in Alexandria was meant to foment unrest; it was meant to destabilize Egypt. If the entire world starts talking about a conflict between Copts and Muslims, it will divide our country. Egypt's image has already suffered serious damage; and if tourists and foreign direct investment stop coming, the terrorists will be laughing up their sleeves. Let's also not forget that an attack in this country is not the same as a suicide attack in Pakistan, Somalia or Iraq, which the global community has almost gotten used to. But when a bomb goes off in Egypt, a country that is still relatively stable, the world is scared.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: But is Egypt really that stable? It's hard to overlook the fact that things have been brewing in Egyptian society for years and that Islamization keeps on advancing.
Boutros-Ghali: That primarily has to do with demographic developments. Egypt's economy isn't growing as rapidly as the population -- which results in poverty, polarization and frustration. The rich Arab Gulf states have stepped in to fill these gaps, not only by donating money, but also by exporting their very own fundamentalist version of Islam. In this way, they've already changed large parts of the Muslim world.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: If the same happens in Egypt, it can't be good news for the Copts.
Boutros-Ghali: No, of course not. If the government doesn't do something to prevent it, discrimination against Copts -- which has always existed to some degree -- is likely to increase again. The government needs to guarantee truly equal opportunity. It needs to see to it that religious prejudices are removed from schoolbooks and that no religious groups face discrimination in building houses of worship. But it also needs to curb the politicization of Islam, which poses a threat to Christians in Egypt.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: For the Muslim Brotherhood, the largest opposition movement, solving problems is very simple. As far as it is concerned: "The solution is Islam."
Boutros-Ghali: No, Islam is a private matter. For that reason alone -- and since 10 percent of Egyptians aren't Muslims -- it can't be the solution to every political problem. What we need is a law that provides true equality to Muslims, Christians and all other religious groups, such as the Bahais. Merely the fact that the Muslim Brotherhood would classify all non-Muslims as second-class citizens means it doesn't offer a credible, democratic alternative. The Muslim Brotherhood will never participate in creating a truly democratic society. It simply can't.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: What words of advice do you have for those of us in the West? What is your message for Europe, for Germany? How should we react to the massacre in Alexandria?
Boutros-Ghali: The most important thing is that Europe shouldn't conjure up a religious war in Egypt. Instead, it should concentrate on gaining a detailed understanding of what's really going wrong in our country. What we need are plans for addressing poverty, overpopulation and underdevelopment. What we don't need are well-meant but ultimately counterproductive words that only serve to divide our society.
January 10, 2011
The Huffington Post
January 7, 2011
Responding to the Christian community’s fears of continued violence following the tragic bombing of an Alexandria church on New Year’s Day, Egypt’s Muslim community held candlelight vigils outside of Coptic churches last Thursday during Christmas Eve celebrations, offering themselves as “human shields” against the threat of Islamic terrorists.
As the Ministry of Interior increased security measures on the eve of the Coptic holiday, deploying 70,000 police officers, thousands of armored vehicles, metal detectors and bomb-sniffing dogs to churches across the country, thousands of Muslim Egyptians rallied to support for their Christian brethren.
President Mubarak’s sons and Egyptian movie stars were among those who attended vigils in Cairo after prominent Islamic leaders and celebrities called for a massive show of support by Egypt’s Muslims in order to send a message that the nation will not stand for extremist violence and persecution.
“We either live together, or we die together,” was the slogan of the night.
“This is not about us and them,” said Dalia Mustafa, a student who attended a Cairo Christmas Eve mass. “We are one. This was an attack on Egypt as a whole, and I am standing with the Copts because the only way things will change in this country is if we come together.”
To read the full story, please click here.
January 2, 2011
The Washington Post
January 2, 2011
By Dr. Ali Gomaa, the Grand Mufti of Egypt
A statement in response to the apparent suicide bombing against worshippers leaving a New Year's Mass at a church that killed at least 21 people.
On behalf of the members and Executive of the C-1 World Dialogue we condemn the horrifying attack in Alexandria outside a Coptic Church and a nearby Mosque killing so many Christians as well as Muslims.
Christians and Muslims are as one in knowing that such an act is contrary to the law of God and can have no possible justification. Our prayers and thoughts go out to all who have been affected and especially to the families of all those killed or wounded. We pray too for those so blinded by fear and hatred as to be involved in committing such crimes and call them to repent.
This act of terrorism was an affront to all Egyptians. It must not be used to sow discord in a country where Christians and Muslims have lived together in peace for centuries. It is vital for the peace of the region and wider world that the place of religious minorities and their full participation in society should continue to be fully protected and assured.
We call upon all Christians, Muslims and people of good will to reach out in their local communities, churches and mosques and to come together in practical solidarity against violence and all those who use it to promote strife and discord.
We are all called as human beings to follow the two great commandments of which the Common Word letter reminds us, namely to love God and our neighbor and we urge everyone to come together in fulfillment of them.
December 16, 2010
Voice of America
December 16, 2010
U.S. peace envoy George Mitchell, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak met in Cairo amid hopes of finding a formula to resume talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
The fate of the fragile Middle East peace process was hanging by a thread as Arab diplomats converged on the Egyptian capital to deliberate what to do after Israel and the Palestinians threw up new obstacles.
U.S. peace envoy George Mitchell and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas held lengthy conversations with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in a bid to find a face-saving resolution to the crisis.
Senator Mitchell said he would continue to work for "substantive" talks and "attempt to make real progress", despite inherent disagreements. "Reaching this goal will not be easy by any means," he says, "The differences between the two sides are real and they are persistent, but the way to get there is by engaging in good faith with the full complexities of the core issues and by working to narrow the gaps between the two sides."
Trying to sound upbeat, the U.S. envoy indicated the opposing sides had agreed to continue working in September and he is still going by that premise.
"In their direct talks in September, both Israelis and Palestinians decided together to pursue a framework agreement that would establish the fundamental compromises on all permanent status issues and it would pave the way for a final peace treaty, That remains our goal," Mitchell said.
Palestinian Leader Mahmoud Abbas is visiting Cairo to seek guidance from the Arab League follow-up committee about if, when and how to proceed with peace talks, following Israel's renunciation of a new settlement freeze. The Palestinians were demanding a new Israeli freeze before engaging in direct talks.
University of Paris political science teacher Khattar Abou Diab believes the Palestinians and the Israelis are frustrated and that neither is offering much incentive to the other side to advance the situation.
He says that (Palestinian President Abbas) is in a bind and the Israelis are not giving any hopeful signs to move things forward, even if the settlement issue was just a pretext. On both sides, he insists, there are hopes and frustrations. He also criticizes President Obama for making the settlement freeze a condition for talks and says that we are now prisoners of that logic.
Abou Diab also points out the Palestinians are increasingly worried the ultimate goal of an independent Palestinian state is looking "more and more like a mirage." He urges the Israeli government to show "more political courage," to coax the Palestinians back to the table.
December 15, 2010
Bloomberg
December 15, 2010
Egypt aims to double annual foreign investment to $15 billion within the next “couple of years” as it opens up its economy to private participation, Trade and Industry Minister Rachid Mohamed Rachid said.
“We know that this depends on many factors that we don’t control,” Rachid said in an interview in Cairo yesterday. “But there is one factor that we are trying to push more than anything else. We want to open up more sectors for investment; in that respect the private-public partnerships and the infrastructure projects are very critical.”
Egypt, which expects to see its GDP grow by 6 percent in 2011, plans to increase its annual infrastructure budget to $17.25 billion over the next five years, Finance Minister Youssef Boutros Ghali said earlier this week. The government is looking for “new funding channels” to back the spending program, which will feature public-private partnerships, he said.
To read the full article, please click here.
December 13, 2010
Stars and Stripes
BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan — Rahim Khan has come from the village of Torkchi to have his hip looked at. Near the end of the Taliban reign, a fighter fired a rocket at his house, and a large mud brick fell on him.
Sixteen-year-old Kamal has come from Chaical village. Trauma from a motorcycle accident four years ago has left him with a wandering eye.
Six-month-old Meshgan almost died from malnutrition because his mother could not produce breast milk. He receives regular feedings here.
They were among the 20 or so Afghans who came to Bagram Air Field on Wednesday for free examinations, courtesy of the Egyptian Field Hospital. It would be a very slow day; the hospital usually sees 250 to 350 people per day, but the Egyptians are rotating teams, and had minimal staffing as they prepared to leave.
The hospital, operating out of the wooden B-huts that dot the entire base, offers surgery and outpatient care, with specialists in many disciplines, including dentistry, ophthalmology, gynecology and pediatrics.
One of four medical facilities on the massive air base in Parwan province north of Kabul, the Egyptian hospital is staffed by 14 doctors and 20 nurses who provide health care to Afghans as an instrument of “soft power,” a way to give locals tangible aid and, hopefully, win some of those hearts and minds sought in counterinsurgency strategy.
Dr. (Col.) Eham Karam Henein Morcos is the chief. According to Karam and the hospital’s commander, Col. Khaled Farghaly abd Elsamee, Egyptian medics have helped more than 600,000 Afghans on an outpatient basis since the hospital opened in July 2003. They have performed more than 2,600 operations on locals, with Khaled’s team doing 284.
Most come in suffering complications from malnutrition and anemia. Tuberculosis, hypertension and diabetes are common. And because much of it goes untreated, patients often arrive in distress, including some “in severe coma,” Karam said.
The same can happen when there is external injury.
“Sometimes, one month after [breaking a bone], they come,” he said, because the locals have no money, or no way to travel.
What the hospital provides is a largely Muslim face — some Egyptians, including Karam, are Christian — to a population that might resist treatment by a Westerner.
There are also Afghan interpreters, to handle the Dari-to-Arabic translations. Many are doctors who come every day from Kabul to translate and to learn from their Egyptian colleagues. The Afghan doctors sometimes assist with surgeries, but many are happy to have a coalition-provided salary, which some of the Egyptians speculated was more than they would make practicing medicine in Kabul.
Egypt is one of just three Arab countries — the others are the United Arab Emirates and Jordan — providing troops in Afghanistan, a fact not lost on some.
“United States has bases in Kuwait, in Qatar, in Bahrain,” complained a United Arab Emirates soldier at the compound. “Where are their soldiers?”
Afghans have come from all over the country to this hospital, the Egyptians said, but most are from the area.
They run a gantlet of Afghan, Egyptian and U.S. security to get on the base.
A small contingent of U.S. forces does eye scans and fingerprinting on each visitor coming in the small gate on the side of the Bagram village, home to about 1,000 Afghans.
They check the retina scan against the growing national database, and add those not in it. On this day, one man’s name was in the system as having had insurgent connections. He sat waiting for U.S. intelligence officials to come “have a chat,” a U.S. Air Force security policeman said.
There also are cultural hurdles for locals. Many have been reluctant to accept care, even from medical staff who are mostly Muslim.
Women in particular were slow in trusting, at first only wanting to deal with the female Egyptian nurses. But Karam says about 70 percent of the women who come in the gate now are willing to be treated by a male doctor.
Still, some are not.
Karam spoke of the heartbreak of dealing with a population plagued by fear and anchored in another culture.
“Sometimes,” he said, “the woman is told she needs C-section, or she die. She say, ‘I ask my husband,’ and we never see her again. What happens, we don’t know.”
November 5, 2010
The Washington Post
Egypt's political future has become a hot topic in Washington as parliamentary and presidential elections approach. Some policy wonks claim that Egypt is stagnant and that our government is resisting change. But those of us who work in the Egyptian government believe that what matters most to ordinary Egyptians is their standard of living; in this respect, the country is undergoing an astonishing transformation.
In the five years since we launched our economic reform program, close to 4 million jobs have been created. Egypt's Human Development Index growth rate - the United Nations measure based on health, education and income - is the 10th-fastest in the world and almost double the global average. From 2005 to 2008, our economy grew at an annual rate of 7.2 percent; despite the global downturn, growth is expected to top 6 percent this year. The World Bank has named Egypt the Middle East's top economic reformer for the past three years. These are hardly signs of stagnation.
Economic growth has helped make Egyptian civil society the most dynamic in the Middle East. Independent satellite broadcasts reach 70 percent of the population. There are more than 500 independent journalism publications and more than 160,000 bloggers. Indeed, there are more opposition dailies in Egypt than in any other Middle Eastern nation. There is also Internet freedom; Google searches are unfettered. Women occupy 23 percent of public positions, and at least 12 percent of seats in the next parliament will be allocated to women.
In many respects, Egypt is a different country from the one it was five years ago.
Unfortunately, the narrative in Washington's policy community has yet to reflect that. Western observers ritually point out the imperfections in our political system - many of which we acknowledge and openly debate. The fact that Egyptians are having open discussions about the upcoming elections, government performance, poverty and even the president is proof of a healthy political space. Moreover, for all the speculation about the leadership transition, the Egyptian constitution defines a precise framework for presidential elections, which are open to any political party that has at least one seat in Parliament. At no time in its modern history has Egypt faced a crisis of transition.
We recognize that Egypt still has a long way to go. Far too many people live in poverty, and too few receive a proper education. But there can be little doubt that Egypt is at a turning point toward much broader prosperity.
The fundamental challenge is to further our economic reforms as Egypt opens up politically. This is why this month's parliamentary elections and next year's presidential election are critical.
The National Democratic Party, to which I belong, will seek a renewed mandate for change through these elections. We believe ours is the only party with the vision and the track record to bring continuing prosperity and growth to Egypt.
The main alternative to our vision is offered by those who would steer the country away from economic liberalism, religious tolerance and social progress and toward greater fundamentalism, eventually creating a religious state in a country that has always embraced diversity. Imagine for a moment an Egypt in the hands of fundamentalist mullahs, fomenting instability and allied with rogue regimes.
As a member of Egypt's Christian community - the largest in the Middle East - I know all too well the dangers of religious intolerance. As finance minister, I recognize the imperative of change in the face of entrenched interests. And as an elected member of Parliament I have come to realize that change without home-grown political support is unsustainable.
Our vision for Egypt is of a modern civil state based on equality, religious tolerance and a free-market economy. Prosperity and better education can drive peaceful political change, which we hope will in turn revive a multiparty system that has unfortunately withered somewhat in recent years. The choice should not just be between the National Democratic Party and the fundamentalists. There must be room for vibrant secular alternatives.
American assistance to Egypt over the past 30 years has played a vital role in building a free-market economy. As Egypt's economy has grown, the relationship has shifted from one based on economic aid - now less than $200 million annually - to one based on trade and investment.
Egypt has long been a regional trendsetter. Ours is the largest country in the Arab world; transforming Egypt's economy will generate prosperity and stability throughout the region and provide a bulwark against extremism. In the end, an economically developed and politically stable Egypt will improve America's security and help to create the foundations of a prosperous and stable Middle East.
Youssef Boutros-Ghali is Egypt's finance minister and a member of its parliament. He is also chairman of the International Monetary Fund's policy steering committee.
To read the original article, please click here.
October 26, 2010
Global Arab Network
The World Bank’s recently released Doing Business 2010 Report says that Egypt is showing how commitment to economic reform can translate into real progress for its people.
The government is working on programs aimed at translating the county’s recent strong economic performance into improved living conditions for those below and around the poverty line, according to the report.
Government reforms have led to a friendlier investment climate, yielding a strong private sector response, and prompting the 2010 report to rank Egypt as a Top Economic Reformer. A favorable external environment and increased regional liquidity have further contributed to a strong economic performance.
Among the fastest growing sectors are construction, communications, tourism and traffic through the Suez Canal.
Beginning in 2004, the government of Egypt has embarked upon reforms to spur economic growth and cement economic sustainability. These reforms have centered on improving the business climate in trade and finance and enhancing basic infrastructure and public services such as education.
Trade Minister Rachid Mohamed Rachid said that the good investment atmosphere in Egypt has made it a major attraction for foreign investors to open long-term development projects.
Foreign investors’ willingness to set up long-term production projects in Egypt demonstrates the international community’s confidence in the Egyptian economy as one of the world’s most important and safe emerging economies, Rachid said.
To read the original article, please click here.
October 20, 2010
• Women’s Quota will guarantee at least 12% of Egyptian People’s Assembly seats are reserved for women
• Amendments to the electoral law provide for additional election officials and for separate ballot cards, ballot boxes and ballot counting procedures for women’s districts.
• Around 1000 women expected to seek nomination in the upcoming People’s Assembly election
Cairo – Elections procedures were amended yesterday to establish separate ballot cards, ballot boxes and counting procedures for 32 women-only electoral districts that will be part of the 2010 People’s Assembly election, expected to take place late November.
These amendments, designed to give effect to the women’s quota, were issued by the President because parliament is currently in recess, and were based on consultations with the High Elections Commission (HEC).
The HEC is Egypt’s independent judiciary-led election management body. It is chaired by the President of Cairo Court of Appeals, with the President of Alexandria Court of Appeals as Vice Chair. They assume these positions by virtue of their judicial seniority and not by political appointment. Its membership also includes two senior judges chosen by the judiciary independently. The remaining members comprise two retired judges and five independent public figures chosen by Parliament.
12% of Parliament Guaranteed for Women Candidates – 1000 Women Nominees Expected
As part of the constitutional amendments adopted by popular referendum in 2007, a women’s quota was authorized. Related legislation adopted last spring established 32 electoral districts, which will return 64 women members to the People’s Assembly, raising the number of seats in the Assembly from 454 to 518. These districts overlap the normal parliamentary districts, with most of them covering whole governorates. Amendments to the electoral procedures are necessary because voting for both types of districts will take place at the same polling stations.
According to the National Council of Women, which has been working to encourage and improve women’s political participation, the response from women to the introduction of the women’s quota has been extremely enthusiastic. The Council expects around 1000 women candidates to take part in the upcoming People’s Assembly election.
Parallel Elections Procedures for the Women’s Quota
The four amendments issued yesterday deal with the logistical aspects of implementing the women’s quota. They change the composition of the electoral committees that oversee balloting at polling station-level by appointing a separate secretary to the committee to coordinate voting for women’s districts. A separate ballot card and a separate ballot box will be used for voting. Voters will be given two ballots and each will be deposited in a separate ballot box.
Ballot counting will continue to be handled by district-level, judge-led ballot counting committees appointed by the HEC. Separate tabulations will be made for the normal districts and for women’s electoral districts. Once counting is completed, ballot boxes and tabulations will be sent to the judge-led women’s district general committee, also appointed by the HEC, for final tabulation of the results from the women’s electoral districts.
A major step for women’s political empowerment
With the introduction of the women’s quota, the Egyptian People’s Assembly will have at least 64 women members. This will raise the number of women members of the People’s Assembly from 8 currently to a minimum of 64, and the percentage of women from 1.8% to a minimum of 12%. In terms of women’s Parliamentary representation, based on reports of the International Parliamentary Union, this would raise Egypt’s international rank from 132 to at least 90.
For more information on the status of women in Egypt please visit the National Council for Women - www.ncwegypt.com
October 19, 2010
Washington Life's October "Embassy Row" issue features a fascinating profile of Ambassador and Mrs. Shoukry. The magazine also devotes a four page spread to beautiful photographs of the Ambassador's historical residence, which is also home to a "museum quality collection" of priceless Egyptian antiquities.
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To read the Ambassador's full profile and view more pictures of the residence, please click here for a digital issue of this month's Washington Life.
October 13, 2010
America.gov
Washington — A small group of Egyptian Americans is a making a big difference in the lives of people locally and globally.
Established in 2002, the Egyptian American Community Foundation (EACF) promotes charitable activities in Egypt and in America. Today, the New York–based foundation faces challenges shared by larger, more established organizations: locating funds and manpower.
Hossam Abdel-Maksoud, chairman of the Egyptian American Community Foundation, said the group of business leaders, doctors, engineers and financiers works to meet the needs of the community.
“All of us are busy people, but making time to try to meet the communities’ needs is important, and we are committed to serving out the organization’s mission,” he said.
Abdel-Maksoud, founder and chairman of Maksoud Pharm Inc., said most of EACF’s funding comes from its 13-member board.
“At a certain time, it becomes a challenge, especially when we are supporting more community-based programs here in the States and overseas,” he said. “It becomes a vital issue for us, how to continue with limited resources.”
Despite financial hurdles and limited manpower, EACF still manages to touch the lives of Americans and Egyptians through a variety of programs.
This past April, the group held a dinner fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity in Egypt that was attended by 150 guests. Yousry Makar, director of Habitat for Humanity Egypt, told attendees that EACF’s support builds homes for Egyptians.
“The money raised tonight will enable families in Egypt to live happier, healthier lives,” Makar said. “In March we completed our 10,000th house in Egypt, a milestone that would never have been possible without the generous contributions of our many Egyptian-American friends.”
The funds raised are specifically dedicated to building many residences in Egypt, which suffers from a crisis of quality, affordable housing.
More recently, EACF has decided to focus its activities closer to home. Abdel-Maksoud said EACF plans to create programs that will service recent Egyptian immigrants to America.
“As we grew, we saw the need to assist new immigrant families here in the States more than overseas,” Abdel-Maksoud said. “We are really starting to focus a little bit more on our community here in the States now.”
In July, EACF sponsored free eye exams and supplied up-to-date vaccination information at the annual Egyptian Festival in Jersey City, New Jersey. Dr. Amgad Ragab, an EACF board member involved with the health fair, said the festival served as community outreach.
“The festival was a great opportunity to celebrate our shared Egyptian culture, while also being responsible and forward-thinking about our personal health,” Ragab said. “Because of EACF’s contributions to this fun, family-oriented event, attendees left both happier and healthier.”
EACF earmarks contributions for five funds that serve foundation goals. The Mercy Fund helps support basic human needs while the Healthcare Services Fund promotes modern health-care initiatives.
In times of crisis, these funds aid people in America and overseas. After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, EACF donated to reconstruction projects in the New Orleans region. In response to the 2004 tsunami, the organization contributed to the Red Cross.
The Childhood Education Fund helps students by funding scholarship programs at the University of Texas, Columbia University and the Rahima Foundation of Northern California. Students interested in broadening American knowledge of the Middle East are eligible for the scholarships.
Efforts to deepen American understanding of Egypt are addressed by EACF’s Cultural Communications Fund. Most recently, EACF sponsored an Egyptian folklore troupe that performed in New York and in New Jersey. Abdel-Maksoud estimated that about 70 percent of the audiences at both shows were not Egyptian.
“With our sons and daughters growing up here I felt that I was obligated, as a citizen, to educate our friends, our community members and America at large that we are a culture with a history that is rich in love and peace and has a lot to give,” Abdel-Maksoud said.
EACF’s Capital Campaign Fund is crucial to its future, a future Abdel-Maksoud believes holds promise for the organization.
“I hope we will be there surviving with a stronger foundation, more involved in our community, improving their lives and helping them live their dream in the United States,” he said.
October 6, 2010
Reuters
While in Washington last week for the twice yearly International Monetary Fund and World Bank, Egypt’s Minister of Finance and Chairman of the International Monetary and Financial Committee, Dr. Youssef Boutros Ghali, advised the IMF that the only way to come to an agreement on reforms is to engage emerging market economies and “make sure everyone walks away feeling like a winner.”
Boutros Ghali emphasized that unless emerging markets feel their voices are heard inside the IMF, the Fund cannot be an effective forum for addressing tough global issues, including tensions over currency exchange rates.
“Let's agree on a package of measures where all of us, each of us, can find some winning element,” he said. Instead of tackling each issue separately, Boutros-Ghali said all the issues should be wrapped up into one package so that there will be room for give and take.
The IMF's 187 member countries struggled to come to an agreement last weekend on a series of reforms including a redistribution of IMF quota shares, which determine voting power of each member country, and the makeup of the IMF board, currently dominated by European countries. The impasse is now left to be broken by G20 leaders when they meet in Seoul in November. The IMF has pledged to finalize its reform plans by January.
Without changes that give emerging markets more influence, the IMF would become irrelevant, Boutros Ghali warned, because it is the only forum in which countries from around the globe can come together to work out their economic differences.
“(Emerging economies) won't hang around. They will just leave and go their own way, and when we need them to establish a framework, the IMF will be irrelevant because you have ignored the main drivers of the system.”
He stressed that the IMF had to be modernized and given the tools not only to spot crises in a more integrated world, but also the influence to tackle economic problems.
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October 4, 2010
Families, friends and dignitaries honored a group of local National Guard troops Sunday in Moore, Oklahoma who are heading to Egypt.
The 90th Troop Command and the 120th Area Medical Support Company depart this week for Fort Lewis in Washington state for final training before deploying to the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt.
Col. Gail Lusty, the units' commander on the mission, said the troops will help primarily with medical and logistics services for the Multinational Force and Observers, a peacekeeping organization.
The troops will support efforts to remove mines planted during multiple wars on the peninsula since 1948. The peacekeeping force was established in 1981, two years after a treaty between Israel and Egypt negotiated with the help of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter.
To read the original article, please click here.
October 4, 2010
Amaal Hassan Kamel has not existed officially for most of her life. The 49-year-old housewife didn't receive a birth certificate or identity card until two months ago. Like millions of Egyptian women and children, she lived in the bureaucratic shadows, unable to apply for a decent job or to request travel documents.
"My parents were very poor, and they never cared about educating or registering me," she told The Times. The mother of 8-year-old triplets said she couldn't enroll them in school "because I did not have the documents needed for applying."
Kamel now has her documents and her children started school in September. She was one of about 3 million unregistered women and children in Egypt who were aided in a project run by the nation's Ministry of Family and Population and its National Council for Childhood and Motherhood. The program aims to raise awareness among undocumented citizens as a way to fight the country's persistent poverty.
Kamel wasn't spurred to act until "people from the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood came to us and talked to me about how essential it was to get my own birth certificate in order to secure my kids' education."
In Egypt, the blue-stamped identity cards are needed for most modern activities. Lack of them is most common among women and children in rural areas and shantytowns, where most women are illiterate housewives whose husbands either oppose or are not aware of their spouses' right to have their own identity cards.
Zena Spinelli, a communications consultant at the ministry of family, said that awareness was the first step in reversing the problem: "We started going to homes and talking to women and their husbands in rural areas and poor neighborhoods," Spinelli said, "about the importance of having official documents for themselves and for their children as well.
"Sometimes, it was not easy for poor people to understand the real need for being registered, and that was the toughest part, but the program is paying dividends after three years of hard work."
Implemented in seven districts across the country, the project has so far led to the issuing of 66,531 identity cards, 45,634 birth certificates and 16,842 documents for unregistered individuals.
September 14, 2010
CNN International
Egypt hosted the second round of Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations Tuesday in the Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh following the initial direct talks held in Washington earlier this month.
This round of discussions included Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Ahead of the two-hour bilateral and multilateral meetings, Secretary Clinton and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak held a bilateral preparatory meeting.
President Abbas and Prime Minister Netanyahu “have agreed to begin first on working to achieve a framework agreement for permanent status. That work is now well under way," said United States Special Envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell, who was also present for the discussions.
Briefing the media after today’s talks, Mitchell said the goals remain a two-state solution, condemnation of violence and working toward security, and a resolution of all issues. The parties are aiming toward resolving all core issues within the next 12 months.
The talks will continue in Jerusalem on Wednesday. The two-day talks will be the last before the expiration of Israel’s settlement moratorium on September 26.
To read the original article, please click here.
September 8, 2010
The second round of direct peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians will take place in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Sept. 14-15, the Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.
At the relaunching of the talks in Washington on September 2, U.S. mediator George Mitchell said the coming round would be held on those dates in the region, without specifying an exact venue, and that the two sides would meet every two weeks.
"Egypt will host the second round of Palestinian-Israeli negotiations in Sharm el-Sheikh," Egypt's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki said in a statement carried by the state news agency MENA.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will lead the negotiations with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton attending, Zaki added.
Clinton will be joined in the negotiations by Mitchell, a State Department official said, and after the talks in Sharm el-Sheikh she will visit Jerusalem where she will have a three-way meeting with Netanyahu and Abbas on Sept. 15.
Egypt, which in 1979 became the first Arab state to sign a peace treaty with Israel, has long played a mediation role but has often criticised Israel for settlement building. The talks are also backed by Jordan.
Arab foreign ministers are expected to endorse the direct talks at the Arab League's second annual meeting, scheduled to take place in Cairo on Sept. 13.
To read the original article, please click here.
September 8, 2010
A state project aiming to ease Egypt's housing shortage is on track to meet or exceed its goal of providing half a million homes by the end of next year, its chief official said on Wednesday.
The government is spending around 20 billion Egyptian pounds in direct and indirect subsidies on the National Housing Project, started as part of President Hosni Mubarak's 2005 election campaign, Mohamed Galal Sayed el-Ahl said.
The National Housing Project was finalizing the handover or had already delivered to customers a total of 303,000 housing units, Ahl told Reuters in an interview.
“We are in the process of building 215,000 units and, God willing, will finish them by the end of next year,” he said.
Egypt's real estate sector has come through the global economic downturn relatively well, mostly thanks to strong local demand from its burgeoning population and a cash economy insulated from international credit markets.
But the country's tiny mortgage market and a lack of low-income housing expertise among many of Egypt's biggest developers has made it hard for the private sector to profit from the pent-up demand among the country's many poor.
Through the National Housing Project, the government sells land at discounts to private companies such as Orascom Development Holding and Nasr City Housing on the condition they use it to build low-income housing.
“We'll receive 100,000 units from private companies this year,” Ahl said. “We will withdraw the land from those who don't finish by the end of the president's election program.”
The ministry is carrying out studies to see if the program should be renewed after next year, when a presidential election is due, Ahl said. Mubarak, 82, has not yet said whether he will seek a sixth six-year term in 2011.
To read the original article, please click here.
August 13, 2010
Tomorrow, the United States, Egypt, and Afghanistan will mark the signing of a cooperation agreement that seeks to protect the livelihoods of farmers in Afghanistan.
A statement from the U.S. Embassy in Cairo explains that a disease-resistant strain of wheat will be provided to Afghan farmers to improve their wheat production. The agreement represents an effort to combat Ug99 – a strain of a deadly wheat pathogen known as stem rust – which is capable of killing an entire crop of wheat within a few days. The wind-borne Ug99 fungus was first detected in Uganda in 1999 and has since spread to other countries in Africa and the Middle East.
The U.S. Agriculture Ministry, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, and international independent researchers, including agricultural researchers from Egypt, have worked together to develop new strains of wheat capable of resisting the pathogen.
Egypt was one of the first countries to develop and double the productivity of a strain of wheat that resists the Ug99 pathogen. Known as Misr1, the strain was first successfully grown in Afghanistan last year.
To read more, please click here.
July 21, 2010
Egypt's tax revenue rose 6 percent in the fiscal year to June 30 after an unexpected surge in economic activity, the finance minister said on Sunday.
Egypt's economy, which withstood the worst of the global economic crisis that began in mid-2008, was buoyed last year by resurgent tourism and Suez Canal receipts, along with resilient construction and gas exports.
"Last year, the national economy regained its strength faster than we had expected. Activity appeared in economic sectors where it was unexpected," Youssef Boutros-Ghali told a news conference.
Tax revenue in fiscal year 2009/10 reached 148 billion Egyptian pounds, 12 billion more than budgeted, he said.
"Because of our reforms, taxes have begun to respond directly to the country's economic activity. The more activity, the more revenue," he added.
Egypt reduced its income tax to a flat 20 percent for most income brackets in 2005, slashed customs duties and enforced tax reporting more strictly.
"Sales were greater than we expected and profits were more than we expected," he said, adding the sales tax was the most significant indicator, because it immediately reflects any increase in economic activity.
To read the original article, please click here.
July 9, 2010
Egypt is implementing a new tax on tobacco products, raising cigarette prices by as much as 40 percent in the heavy smoking nation.
In conjunction with Alexandria’s recent ban on smoking in government buildings and public spaces, the new tax hopes to curb smoking in the Arab world's most populous nation and help fund health and social service programs.
The increase, which took effect July 1, was approved in late May. The tax raises the price of cigarettes by as much as 40 percent, while a 100 percent duty is added to tobacco used in shisha, or water pipes.
Health Ministry officials say the new tax is expected to generate about $345 million in additional revenue.
World Lung Foundation regional spokesman Mohamed Ghamrawy says, “International experience has proven that when you increase (cigarette prices) by about 10 percent, it may help decrease the number of smokers by 7 percent.”
“We hope that it will help a lot of smokers start to quit.”
To read the original article, please click here.
For more information, please contact Anjali Reddy at 202-777-3508 or areddy@clsdc.com.
This material is distributed by Chlopak, Leonard, Schechter & Associates on behalf of
the Egyptian Press and Information Office. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice, Washington, DC.
June 18, 2010
The American South, Sameh Shoukry says, has a lot in common with Egypt. He knows comparing the Bible Belt to Muslim country in North Africa probably sounds odd. But Shoukry, Egypt’s ambassador to the U.S., has a built a career on finding common ground.
“The South is associated with hospitality and warmth, which is a shared value structure in much of the Middle East,” he says in an interview. “They’re societies that put great value in terms of family and extended family. There’s a natural demeanor of receptiveness, of people being welcoming, being open. This is a common issue between Southerners and Middle Easterners.”
Shoukry, a career diplomat who was named Egypt’s ambassador in 2008, came to The Ballantyne Hotel & Lodge in April for a reception and dinner with the Middle East Council of the Carolinas. It was part of a two-day trip to Charlotte that took him to UNC Charlotte for a lively question-and-answer session with students and to a lunch hosted by the World Affairs Council of Charlotte.
In his appearances, he stressed the strong historic bonds between the U.S. and Middle East, and said that the reality of Egyptian life might contrast with American’s perceptions of the greater Middle East.
“It’s important for Americans to know that this generation in Egypt grew up admiring the U.S.,” he says. “It’s a very receptive society and one that harbors no ill feelings toward Americans, but it more likely to pamper them.”
Other stereotypes of the Middle East don’t apply to Egypt, he says: Unlike Palestine or Iraq, Egypt is safe. And the role of women in Egypt is “quite progressive.”
Misconceptions also cut the other way. When he’s home in Egypt, he says he tells his countrymen that America is different from what’s depicted on “Dallas” and “Desperate Housewives.” In Egypt, films, television and other media create a caricature of the U.S. as an uncaring, materialistic society with “liberal morals,” he says.
Shoukry has traveled throughout the U.S., though this was his first visit to Charlotte. He’s pleased, he says, that the region seems to have a growing contingent of Middle Easterners. It also has commercial ties to Egypt.
Shoukry, 58, has lived with one foot in Egypt and one in the rest of the world even before joining his country’s diplomatic corps in 1976. His father was a diplomat, too, with stints in Washington, D.C., and the Philippines. He learned to like the lifestyle and enjoys representing his country. At UNC Charlotte, he seemed at ease answering questions from students – typically with a smile and in great detail – on a wide range of topics, including Yemini extremism, Indian-Pakistani relations and nuclear disarmament.
But serving in Egypt’s top diplomatic post can make for long days. Some mornings, his colleagues in Cairo – either oblivious or indifferent to the six-hour time difference with Washington – call as early as 5 a.m. From then on, it’s often a series of meetings or speeches, as well as overseeing a diplomatic staff of about 250.
It’s sometimes difficult to attract the attention of the right policymakers in Washington, he says. And his assignment is open-ended. Unlike, say, negotiating a treaty, being the Egyptian ambassador to the U.S. has no natural point at which the job is finished. Each day brings new issues.
Typically, days end with a dinner. On an average week, he and his wife host two dinners and attend another three or four.
“It’s a challenge to keep off the weight,” he jokes.
To read the original article, please click here.
For more information, please contact Lindsay Mize at (202)777-3540 or lmize@clsdc.com.
This material is distributed by Chlopak, Leonard, Schechter & Associates on behalf of the Egyptian Press & Information Office. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice, Washington, DC.
June 15, 2010
Egypt is attempting to ban smoking in public places, making Alexandria its first no smoking city by enforcing current bans in government buildings.
"It's a big public health problem," says the University of Alexandria’s Dr. Hassan Salam, who is heading research supporting the change in policy. "Smoking in Egypt is very common, unfortunately. Out of every 10 men, four smoke and more and more women are smoking now.
In Alexandria, local authorities first plan to enforce the existing law that prohibits smoking in government buildings. Within two years, the ban will be extended to include cafes.
Egypt hopes smoking rates will decline and that Alexandria will serve as an example for the rest of the country.
The read the original article, please click here.
For more information, please contact Lindsay Mize at (202)777-3540 or lmize@clsdc.com.
This material is distributed by Chlopak, Leonard, Schechter & Associates on behalf of the Egyptian Press & Information Office. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice, Washington, DC.
May 26, 2010
The Huffington Post
By Ambassador Mahamat Adam Bechir and Ambassador Sameh Shoukry
As Africans came together in unity to celebrate Africa Day today on May 25, we reflect on the progress we have made and the challenges that remain as we work toward achieving the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). With only five years left until the 2015 deadline, dedicated resources and strong leadership from African nations are more important than ever. Over the past decade we have made great progress, but more needs to be done, especially in the area of health.
In 2001, Africa's heads of state signed the Abuja Declaration and committed to the eventual creation of The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, a public/private partnership and the largest multilateral financing institution in the fight against major causes of illness and mortality on our continent. Since then, The Global Fund has fostered stronger health systems in Africa, saved the lives of millions of women and children across the continent, strengthened economies of African countries through healthier workforces, and fostered partnerships between the public and private sectors.
2010 is a critical year as we strive to reach the MDG milestones for reducing childhood mortality, improving the lives of women and girls, and fighting infectious diseases. This year is also important for donor nations to pledge new resources to support Global Fund projects around the world.
The African Union Summit this July is a valuable opportunity to demonstrate African countries commitment to the Millennium Development Goals, especially in the health sector. We hope that the rest of the world will express similar commitment, and continue to pledge its increasing support to The Global Fund to help in achieving these goals. Investing in The Global Fund is an investment towards improving the lives of millions, and strengthening Africa now and in the future.
The authors are Co-Chairs of the Africa Day Commemoration in Washington, D.C.
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May 11, 2010
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His Excellency Sameh Shoukry, Egyptian Ambassador to the United States; General David H. Petraeus, Commander United States Central Command; United States Senator Dan Inouye (D-HI)
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United States Senator Dan Inouye (D-HI) and his wife, Irene Hirano Inouye with Egyptian Defense, Military, Naval & Air Attaché Major General Mohamed Elkeshky and his wife, Malak Aly
Ambassador Sameh Shoukry hosted a social dinner at his residence on May 5th in honor of General David H. Petraeus, Commander of the United States Central Command.
The dinner presented an opportunity to recognize the importance of the Egyptian-American friendship and General Petraeus’ contributions to the relationship.
Attendees included: United States Senator Dan Inouye (D-HI), Congressman Howard Berman (D-CA), Assistant Secretaries of State Jeffrey Feltman and Andrew Shapiro, and Assistant Secretary of Defense Alexander Vershbow. Additional guests included friends of both Ambassador Shoukry and General Petraeus: former National Security Advisors Zbigniew Brzezinski and Brent Scowcroft, and Jessica Mathews, President of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
During the event, the commitment to strengthen the relationship between Egypt and the U.S. was reinforced.
April 29, 2010
World Bank
The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors today approved a $7.15 million grant for Egypt, which will help finance the Alexandria Coastal Zone Management Project.
The grant will support the Government of Egypt’s efforts to reconcile economic development with environmental and social sustainability though the implementation of an integrated approach to coastal zone management, in particular the ongoing preparation of a National Strategy for Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM).
"We are pleased that the GEF grant will support this project, which is in line with the Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) for Egypt, namely to ensure environmental sustainability along with economic growth," said A. David Craig, Country Director for Egypt, Yemen and Djibouti.
The objective of Alexandria Coastal Zone Management Project is to improve institutional mechanisms for the sustainable management of coastal zones in Alexandria, in particular to reduce land-based pollution to the Mediterranean Sea. The project will pilot innovative and low-cost technologies for pollution reduction originating from agricultural drainage water and rural domestic wastewater.
To read the full article, please click here.
April 23, 2010
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The “Boy King” returned to New York City on April 23, for the first time in 30 years. To commemorate the occasion, Egypt’s Ambassador to the United States H.E. Sameh Shoukry asked U.S. Representative Carolyn Maloney to accept King Tut’s “passport” for safe keeping. The short ceremony took place at the Discovery Times Square Exposition immediately preceding the gala event celebrating the opening of the King Tut exhibit.
April 15, 2010
Bloomberg
Egypt recorded a 24 percent increase in tourism revenue in the first quarter of 2010 as the industry recovered from last year’s global financial crisis, said Egypt’s tourism minister, Zoheir Garranah.
According to Garranah, revenue increased to $2.7 billion for the three months through March, and tourist arrivals advanced 29 percent to 3.46 million visitors. “We have completely rebounded,” he said.
The modern Egyptian economy depends on tourism, foreign direct investment and the Suez Canal for foreign currency. Tourism, which accounts for more than 12 percent of jobs in modern Egypt, generated $10.76 billion in 2009, according to the ministry.
Besides its historical attractions, Egypt also draws tourists seeking sun, sand and diving along its Red Sea coast and in the Sinai Peninsula. Russia is still the largest source of tourists to Egypt, as arrivals from Russia grew 93.5 percent in the first quarter and revenue increased 80 percent over the same period in 2009, the minister said.
To read the full article, please click here.
April 6, 2010
News24
Antiquities officials from around the world will gather in Cairo on Wednesday to map out a strategy to recover ancient loot they say has been pillaged from their countries and displayed abroad.
Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) said the forum will discuss "the protection and restitution of cultural heritage."
Over the years, Egypt's antiquities chief Zahi Hawass has made the return of looted Egyptian artifacts the hallmark of his tenure and won many battles to bring home Pharaonic items and other ancient relics.
In March, Egypt said it retrieved from Britain some 25,000 ancient artifacts, including a stone axe dating back 200,000 years and pottery from the seventh millennium BC.
To read the full article, please click here.
March 31, 2010
BBC World News
Egypt’s national soccer team has moved up three places to fourteenth in the world, according to the latest Fifa world rankings released on Wednesday. With Hassan Shehata as their coach, The Pharaoh’s are the highest ranked soccer team in Africa.
World Cup-bound Cameroon is the only other team from the continent in the world's top 20.
Spain retained the top spot, while Portugal and England both improved their positions in the top 10.
To read the original article, please click here.
March 21, 2010
Washington Post
An international donors conference hosted by Egypt on Sunday raised $850 million for projects intended to ensure the safe return of nearly 3 million people displaced during the war in Darfur.
The one-day conference in Cairo, co-chaired by Egypt and Turkey, was organized by the 57-nation Organization of The Islamic Conference and included representatives from the U.S., European nations, U.N. agencies and aid groups.
Egypt said the conference highlighted the importance of development in achieving peace and stability in Darfur. It said many participants made unspecified aid pledges on top of the $850 million raised.
"The large participation and the pledges made reflect the wide extent of the international commitment and wish in supporting peace and stability in Darfur," Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said, reading from the meeting's final communique.
To read the full article, please click here.
March 10, 2010
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Herbert Kercado, an agricultural specialist for U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Miami, came across a rather interesting shipment a couple of years ago.
It came in a wooden crate which he closely inspected for the presence of beetles and other insect pests which could threaten trees and crops in the U.S. The crate was apparently clean, but its listed contents seemed peculiar: a wooden sarcophagus.
Kercado, a history buff who watches documentaries on TV, did some quick research, he says, "...through the internet. And [I] found out that some items were stolen from Egypt in the past." The ag specialist notified his superior, and an investigation was launched.
Special agent Vince Menditto, with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) caught the case. He was suspicious right away because of the casual way the supposedly-ancient artifact was packed.
"There were no humidity-protection devices inside... There was no acid-free paper," observed the investigator -- just styrofoam peanuts, shredded newspaper, and a felt blanket.
The paperwork trail was a bit hazy also. The 3,000 year old artifact supposedly came from a Spanish museum to an American broker on behalf of a Canadian purchaser. None of the parties could prove the Egyptian government had ever given its permission for removal of this piece of its ancient civilization.
A U.S. judge approved the seizure of the sarcophagus, and competing claims of ownership eventually melted away.
March 8, 2010
NPR
As part of President Clinton’s effort to promote peace in the Middle East, he brokered an important trade agreement with Egypt that many believe saved the Egyptian textile industry. The deal established Qualifying Industrial Zones (QIZ), and Haiti now wants its own version of the successful U.S. – Egyptian partnership.
QIZ, which has helped foster Egypt’s textile and readymade garment industries, allows Egypt to export items to the United States duty-free, provided that part of the product includes an Israeli item. The intended result is cooperation between Israel and Arab states and growing industries in Egypt.
Haiti, which doesn’t have a developed export apparel industry, is seeking a similar agreement with the United States, as part of its effort to rebuild after the historic earthquake in January.
To hear the original broadcast, please click here.
March 3, 2010
Al-Jazeera
The fields along the Nile basin have supplied Egypt with an abundance of food for centuries, providing farmers with enough expertise to know how to grow the land properly. But that’s not the case for many of Egypt’s neighbors.
Egypt is well placed to help countries across Africa that struggle to feed their people, since it is rich in food supplies.
Poverty and food scarcity are crucial problems facing African nations, which is why leaders of the African Union met recently and approved a joint plan of action to enhance food security.
Only 4 percent of arable land in Africa and the Arab world is irrigated, leaving many countries to rely on rainfall for water. By comparison, Egypt has one of the oldest irrigation systems in the world and its vast experience has been sought out to help its African neighbors.
To view the original broadcast, please click here.
February 11, 2010
Zawya
Egypt’s first Public-Private Partnership (PPP) venture is on track to be completed in 2012, announced the Egyptian Ministry of Finance and the International Finance Corporation (IFC). The IFC hopes to finance five such projects in Egypt, and the first PPP venture will see the construction of an approximately $150 million wastewater facility on the outskirts of Cairo.
In May 2009, the government closed the international bidding for the project and awarded it to Orasqualia, a consortium between Egypt's Orascom Construction Industries and Spain's Aqualia and Aqualia Infrastructure.
With a capacity of 250,000 m3 the facility is expected to satisfy the sanitation needs of the growing settlements of New Cairo. The current population of New Cairo is 500,000 and is expected to increase to 3.8 million by 2029.
"We are actively working to collaborate with the private sector to meet the growing infrastructure demands in Egypt. This project is an important step towards setting the stage for future PPPs," said Rania Zayed, head of the PPP Central Unit at Egypt's Ministry of Finance.
To read the original article, please click here.
February 4, 2010
Reuters
The Egyptian holiday resort of Sharm el-Sheikh intends to slash its carbon emissions in the next decade to woo a growing class of eco-tourists, a senior government official who heads the $238 million project says.
Tourism is a crucial source of foreign currency and jobs in Egypt, accounting for about 11 percent of GDP.
"Tourists will pick places that are environmentally friendly and taking positive steps to reduce their carbon emissions," said Hisham Zaazou, a top official at the Tourism Ministry.
The plan is to introduce renewable energy schemes, cut water use and improve waste management to boost the environmental credentials of a resort where sprawling concrete hotel complexes have sprung up in recent decades.
Zaazou said the project would cost about 3 percent of the resort's annual revenues and the aim was for private investors to meet 48 percent of this.
"We are trying to entice the private sector to move in this direction," he said. He also added that several banks had indicated they would help with finance and some hotels were looking at putting in place energy saving schemes in their complexes.
To read the original article, please click here.
January 28, 2010
Wall Street Journal
Egypt's economy will continue to defy headwinds from the developed world this year, helped by a strong consumer and banking sector and by sustained inward investment, Trade and Industry Minister Rachid Mohamad Rachid said Wednesday.
One of Africa's largest economies, Egypt managed to grow by 4.5% in 2009, a year when Europe and most of the developed world suffered its worst recession in 60 years, and Rachid said the government expects growth to quicken to 5% this year and 7% in 2011.
Rachid also said that the government is keen to attract more investment in renewable energy, especially wind power along the Red Sea coast in the east of the country--"one of the best natural wind tunnels in the world," as he described it.
Egypt, whose production of natural gas has trebled in the last decade, has set itself the target of sourcing 20% of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2020.
To read the original article, please click here.
January 26, 2010
MSN Arabia
Egyptian Minister of Electricity and Energy Hassan Yunis said Friday Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) would soon hammer out a framework deal for a 200 megawatts wind farm at the Gulf of Suez region in Egypt.
Egypt's New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA) and the UAE's state-owned Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company will be involved in the project, he added.
Egypt has already allowed the private sector to launch the first private wind farm project in Egypt with a capacity of 250 megawatts under the building, operating and transferring (BOT) system, he said.
The electricity sector in the country has taken all guarantees to ensure successful investment in wind farms, the minister added.
He expected Egypt's wind capacity to reach 7,200 megawatts by 2020.
To read the original article, please click here.
January 22, 2010
Al-Ahram
Fatakat, the first and largest of Egypt’s Internet forums geared to women has become a forum where friends share conversation and discourse on topics that range from modern Egyptian home-life to politics. It has been reported to be the second most-visited site in Egypt in 2009, according to Ratteb, a statistical source for Arabic websites.
Attracting the site's 180,000 members are Fatakat's 256,500 topics related to women, and the site has clocked up some five million visits since it went online in July 2007. Today, Fatakat attracts some 150,000 hits daily. The site aims to be for women "who have various experiences and knowledge that have enabled them to solve problems," Riri, co-founder of Fatakat, says.
Above all, for Riri the site is intended as an information platform for its members and a place where they can share stories and experiences, whether marital, financial, professional or parental. "[Members] teach each other foreign languages, recite the Quran and practise hobbies and handicrafts," she says.
Though all the members of the site have nicknames, many of them also know each other personally. "Some of our members visited my mother when she was in hospital last week. There is a good spirit among members, and I sometimes feel that Fatakat is like one big family," The Reality, a 21-year-old member of the site says.
To read the original article, please click here.
December 3, 2009
Founder of Arab Global Forum discusses conference and U.S.-Arab world relationship
The Arab Global Forum will take place December 7-8, 2009, in Washington, D.C. This groundbreaking event will bring together Arab business leaders, along with experts, policy-makers and senior executives of international corporations with direct involvement or keen interest in the Arab region to lay the foundations for expanding business and economic cooperation.
Today, the Arab world countries represent a total GDP of about 2.5 trillion U.S. dollars. Under the theme, “The Arab World in a New Global Context: Challenges, Choices and Opportunities,” this first meeting of the Arab Global Forum will look into changes in the region and at emerging business forces in the Arab World.
Shafik Gabr, the founder and convener of the conference, is not only a prominent Egyptian investor and philanthropist, but also a man with a vision for his country and the Arab world. The level of hope and energy President Obama injected into the region last June has been astounding, and Shafik wants both Americans and Arabs to harness that energy into concrete action.
On Wednesday, December 2, Shafik did a live interview with FoxBusiness where he discussed the current stock market crisis in Dubai and how it impacts investment in the Middle East.
November 16, 2009
Egypt applies for first Arabic domain name
Minister of Communications and Information Technology Dr. Tarek Kamel and Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Dr. Hani Helal announced today that Egypt had signed up to acquire the first Arabic domain name suffixed ".misr.”
According to Kamel, Egypt is the first Arab nation to apply for a non-Latin character domain. The effort is part of a broader push to expand both access and content in developing nations, where the Internet remains out of reach for wide swaths of the population. Domain names ended by “.misr” will then be available on search engines for internet users to find.
"It is a great moment for us," Kamel said of the domain name, which translates as ".Egypt".
The registering of the domain "will offer new avenues for innovation, investment and growth, and hence we can truly and gladly say ... the Internet now speaks Arabic," Kamel said at the start of the Internet Governance Forum — a U.N. - sponsored gathering that drew Net legends like Yahoo Inc.'s Jerry Yang and Tim Berners-Lee, known as one of the Internet's founding fathers.
The new domains stem from a decision taken at the end of October by the board of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, a key Internet oversight agency, to develop a "fast-track" mechanism for domain names in languages such as Chinese, Korean, Arabic and others that do not use the Latin alphabet.
Yang said that while there are over 300 million Arabic speakers in the world, less than 1 percent of the content online is in Arabic.
The challenge "isn't just about getting as many people online as possible, but making sure that once they get online, they have something productive to do, something to gain, something meaningful to experience."
To read the November 15th AP article, please click here.
To read the press release put out by the Egypt Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, please click here.
November 11, 2009
I was shocked as any sensible human being was when I learned about the senseless, appalling and cowardly act of violence in Fort Hood. This horrific attack is a complete violation of Islamic law and norms and the perpetrator is no way representative of the Muslim people or the religion of Islam. God upholds the sanctity of life as a universal principle. "and do not kill one another, for God is indeed merciful unto you" says the Quran in (4:29). Islam views murder as both a crime punishable by law in this world and as major sin punishable in the Afterlife as well. Prophet Mohammad said, "The first cases to be decided among the people on the Day of Judgment will be those of blood-shed"
The Islam that we were taught in our youth is a religion that calls for peace and mercy. The first prophetic saying that is taught to a student of Islam is "Those who show mercy are shown mercy by the All-Merciful. Show mercy to those who are on earth and the One in the heavens will show mercy to you." What we have learned about Islam has been taken from the clear, pristine, and scholarly understanding of the Qur'an, "O people we have created you from a single male and female and divided you into nations and tribes so that you may know one another." When God said "to know one another" He did not mean in order to kill one another. All religions have forbidden the killing of innocents. To kill an innocent human being is tantamount to killing the entire humanity.
Let me be clear by reiterating that Islam is utterly against extremism and terrorism but unless we understand the factors that provide a rationalization for terrorism and extremism we will never be able to eradicate this scourge. This must be understood in order to build a better future that can bring an end to this grave situation that is destroying the world.
My heart, my thoughts, and my prayers go out to the families who lost their loved ones. We offer our deepest and sincerest condolences to the families of the victims and pray for a speedy recovery of the wounded. We demand the perpetrator to be brought to justice and stand the trial.
However, it was unfortunate to see hasty responses and reactions which immediately jumped on Islam within minutes of the first news reports of the incident. Blaming an entire religion because of the acts of this not-well man is patently unfair and serves no purpose.
It is important for us at this time of great sadness to stand together and process this horrific incident in a way that is fair and reasonable. It is important that we do not demonize Muslims without cause not because it is good for Muslims, but because our future ability to coexist in peace depends on it.
Dr. Ali Gomaa is Grand Mufti of Egypt.
November 9, 2009
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton consults with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo.
Cairo, Egypt -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said last Wednesday she took on the "complicated and difficult" task of trying to restart talks on Israeli-Palestinian peace during her talks with Egypt's leaders.
Egypt is "an essential partner" in that effort, she said.
"President Obama, special envoy [George] Mitchell -- who is here with me today -- and I are all deeply and personally committed to achieving a two-state solution and comprehensive peace between Israelis, Palestinians and all of their Arab neighbors," Clinton said at a joint news conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Ali Aboul Gheit.
Clinton met with Aboul Gheit and other Egyptian leaders before consulting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. She said she felt "very satisfied by what we accomplished on this trip" despite the complex issues at hand.
November 3, 2009
Lecture:
“Human Rights, Democracy & Legislative Reforms: A Vision From Egypt”
Sponsored by:
Georgetown University’s Center for Contemporary Arab Studies
Wednesday, November 4, 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
CCAS Boardroom, ICC 241
Please join us for a lecture by H.E. Dr. Ahmed Fathi Sorour, President of the People's Assembly of Egypt, which will focus on political reform in support of human rights and democracy in Egypt from past to present to future.
Dr. Sorour is the President of the People's Assembly of Egypt, one of the two houses that constitute Egypt's parliament. Throughout his career he has held many distinguished positions, including that of Minister of Education, President of the Supreme Council of Universities and several high-level administrative roles at Cairo University.
He obtained his PhD in Criminal Law from Cairo University, his LLM from the University of Michigan, and his BS from Cairo University. Dr. Fathi Sorour is the President of the Egyptian People's Assembly, one of the two houses that constitute Egypt's parliament.
To attend this event, please RSVP here.
Contact:
Center for Contemporary Arab Studies
E-mail: ccasevents@georgetown.edu
October 19, 2009
The Suzanne Mubarak Regional Center for Women’s Health and Development and the Breast Cancer Foundation of Egypt is creating a new partnership with Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the world’s largest breast cancer advocacy organization, to create a Race for the Cure at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt on October 24.
The race is being organized under the direction of First Lady Suzanne Mubarak and supported by different organizations from Egypt and the U.S. Breast cancer advocates from the U.S. and the Middle East will gather in Egypt to increase breast cancer awareness throughout the region.
Dr. Mohamed Shaalan, chairman of the Breast Cancer Foundation in Egypt, said “the week’s events are a demonstration of the cooperation between countries, governments, civil society, advocates, survivors and the global community as a whole. It shows that breast cancer has no boundaries and reveals the beauty of the world’s unity in its fight against breast cancer …”
A series of events will take place during the week of October 21-27, including the training and commemorations in Alexandria on October 21-22 and the University of Florida’s Multidisciplinary Symposium on Breast Cancer Disease on October 24-27.
To read the full text of the article, please click here.
October 15, 2009
Reuters
Egypt's GB Auto will form a subsidiary to help buyers purchase on credit vehicles from India's Bajaj a move that would allow GB to expand sales among lower income groups, GB said on Thursday.
The venture would acquire Bajaj-branded motorcycles and threewheelers (tuk tuks) already imported and assembled by GB Auto and allow them to be sold to consumers unable to obtain mainstream financing, the company said in a statement.
"This venture will bring GB Auto products to new customers and address a gap in available credit that is restricting sales in a fast-growing line of business," Chief Executive Officer Raouf Ghabbour said in the statement.
GB Auto, Egypt's biggest listed automobile maker and assembler, said motorcycle and threewheeler sales totaled 500 million Egyptian pounds ($91.3 million) in 2008 and would more than double over the next three years.
Threewheelers made by Bajaj hold a 95 percent market share of such vehicles sold in Egypt and its motorcycles account for one of every four motorcycles sold in the most populous Arab country.
Read the article here.
October 14, 2009
Reuters
United Arab Emirates-based Dana Gas said on Tuesday it had made two gas finds in Egypt with reserves totaling an estimated 86 billion cubic feet.
The gas was located in Faraskur-1 and Marzouk-2 in one of its concessions in the Egyptian Nile Delta, the company said in a statement.
"The discoveries at the Marzouk-2 and Faraskur-1 wells represent the eighth and ninth discoveries from our 2008-09 drilling campaign in the Nile Delta," said Chief Executive Ahmed al-Arbeed.
"The ... drilling campaign is continuing to yield very positive results, boosting Dana Gas' production and profitability," he added.
The Faraskur-1 discovery, which is alone expected to add up to 73 billion cubic feet to the company's Egyptian reserves, is located in the West El Manzala Concession, the statement said.
Dana Gas, which relies on Egypt for the bulk of its income, said last year that it planned to invest about $500 million in Egypt and Iraq's Kurdish region in 2009 to boost natural gas output.
To read the full article, please click here.
October 8, 2009
Sheikh Ali Gomaa, Grand Mufti of Egypt, stressed the ideals of a modern peaceful Muslim world in the Wall Street Journal today. He asked the United States to “confront the fear and misunderstanding” about Islam, strive to reinforce common principles while accepting the reality of differences in values, and commit to the rule of law as the “legitimate basis for international relations.”
Dr. Gomaa is one of the world’s preeminent scholars of Islamic Law. He presides over the Dar Al Ifta, Egypt’s supreme body for Islamic legal edicts, advising Muslims on how to abide by their faith in an enlightened manner while dealing with the changing circumstances of a modern world. This week he is visiting Washington D.C. to attend a meeting of the Common Word, a global initiative to explore and promote the common ground between two great faiths: Christianity and Islam.
To read the full piece in the Wall Street Journal, click here.
Islam, Israel and the United States
Peace among the Abrahamic faiths will be built on respect and the law.
By SHEIKH ALI GOMAA, WSJ, 10/8/09
America and the West have been victims of violent extremists acting in the name of Islam, the tragic events of 9/11 being only the most egregious of their attacks. Western officials and commentators are consumed by the question, "Where are the moderates?" Many, seeing only the extremism perpetuated by a radical few, despair of finding progressive and peaceful partners of standing in the Muslim world.
However, reconciling Islam with modernity has been an imperative for Muslims before it became a preoccupation for the West. In particular, the process dates back to the 19th century, when what became known as the Islamic reform movement was born in Al Azhar University in Cairo, Islam's premiere institution of learning.
At the Dar al Iftaa, Egypt's supreme body for Islamic legal edicts over which I preside, we wrestle constantly with the issue of applying Islam to the modern world. We issue thousands of fatwas or authoritative legal edicts—for example affirming the right of women to dignity, education and employment, and to hold political office, and condemning violence against them. We have upheld the right of freedom of conscience, and of freedom of expression within the bounds of common decency. We have promoted the common ground that exists between Islam, Christianity and Judaism. We have underscored that governance must be based on justice and popular sovereignty. We are committed to human liberty within the bounds of Islamic law. Nonetheless, we must make more tangible progress on these and other issues.
Yet, just as we recommit to reinforcing the values of moderation in our faith, we look to the United States to assume its responsibility for the sake of a better relationship between the West and Islam.
First, it is essential that the U.S. confront the fear and misunderstanding that has often pervaded the public discourse about Islam, especially in the media.
Second, while we must strive to reinforce the common principles that we share, we must also accept the reality of differences in our values and in our outlook. Islam and the West have distinct value systems. Respect for our differences is a foundation for coexistence, and never for conflict.
Finally, there must a true commitment to the rule of law, and to sovereign equality, as the legitimate basis for international relations. While some of the divide between Islam and the West lies in the realm of ideas, it lies mostly in the realm of politics. The violence and the aggression to which many Muslim countries have been subjected are the main sources of a deep and legitimate sense of grievance, and they must be addressed.
Israel's occupation of Palestine must be brought to an end; its continuation is an affront to the fundamental tenets of justice and freedom that we all seek to uphold. In Iraq and Afghanistan, full sovereignty and independence must be restored to their people with the withdrawal of all foreign forces. President Barack Obama's historic address to the Muslim world from Cairo on June 4 was a landmark event that opened the door to a new relationship between Islam and the West, precisely because it acknowledged these imperatives. Yet much work needs to be done by both sides.
October 1, 2009
Associated Press
Egypt will offer two licenses to provide telecommunications services for upscale suburbs outside the capital, including fixed lines, a government official said Wednesday, in a move expected to bring in $1 billion worth of investments over the next five years.
Communication and Information Technology Minister Tarek Kamel said the licenses will be granted to a pair of consortia to operate internet, cable TV and phone services within these communities springing up around Cairo.
"These two additional licenses are for inviting consortia to come in from the private sector whether locally or internationally," said Kamel, speaking on the sidelines of the Euromoney Egypt conference.
The companies will not be required to submit an upfront payment, but the licenses would be based on a revenue sharing program in which the government would get 8 percent of the proceeds of operations within these compounds.
Telecom Egypt, the state-owned company, would still operate in these communities, including fixed line services.
Over the last few years, Cairo has been expanding and its developers have invested billions of dollars in new housing communities in the desert catering to upper- and middle-income Egyptians.
The government's move also indicates a shift in the responsibility for providing infrastructure from the state to private developers.
Click here to read more
September 17, 2009
AFP
In partnership with Travco, a tourism group in Egypt, Air Arabia has announced its plans to launch a new low-cost airline in Egypt with destinations to Europe, Middle East and Africa. Air Arabia, the first low-cost airline in the Middle East, has announced a 21 percent increase in net profits for the first half of 2009 despite its many competitors and the global financial downturn. Egypt is the airline’s third hub after Morocco and UAE.
Cairo International Airport is already the second busiest airport in Africa, after Johannesburg International in South Africa, and also the fastest growing airport in the Middle East. The Air Arabia expansion is expected to boost the Egyptian tourism sector even more - a significant benefit to the Egyptian economy, which has already outperformed expectations this year growing at 4.7 percent.
September 14, 2009
Al-Ahram
Ambassador Mushira Mhamoud Khatab, Minister of State for Family and Population, headed the Egyptian delegation to the International Conference on Violence against women in Rome last week, where she chaired a special session on the right to education and gave a presentation on the Egyptian initiative on girls education which is being implemented under the auspices of the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood.
Ambassador Khatab asserted Egypt’s commitment to the United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative, which aims to reduce the gender gap in schooling and to give girls equal access to all levels of education.
The Egyptian Girls Education Initiative has been described in a United Nations Children’s Fund report as being “the creation of a new generation of schools for a new generation of women—women who are educated, empowered, and eager to take their rightful place in society, as equal partners in its development, be it in the family, in the community, or beyond”.
Please click here to read the article on the Al-Ahram website.
Please click here to read the UNICEF report, "The Girls' Education Initiative in Egypt."
September 7, 2009
Bloomberg
The Egyptian government targets export growth of as much as 15 percent in the fiscal year through June 2010, Trade and Industry Minister Rachid Mohamed Rachid said.
“This all depends on the rest of the world, because our main targets, our main markets are the United States and Europe,” Rachid said today in an interview at his office in central Cairo.
The global financial crisis dragged Egypt’s exports down 14.3 percent to $25.2 billion in the past fiscal year, according to the central bank.
Expansion of the domestic construction and communications industries offset the decline in Egypt’s main hard currency earners, helping the economy beat IMF forecast and expand 4.7 percent.
Read the full article here.
September 3, 2009
Egypt's State Council will employ female law graduates within its ranks for the first time, daily newspaper Al-Shorouk reported Sunday.
The State Council, or Council of State, is the administrative court that presides over disputes pertaining to contracts and decrees issued by government officials and ministries. Governmental agencies often have in-house representatives from the State Council who advise on all administrative law matters.
State Council head Mohammad Husseini said nothing exists in the Egyptian Constitution or under Islamic law that prevents a woman from occupying an administrative judicial post, and women are employed in high ranking judicial positions in Gulf States.
Husseini added that the decision was taken on the basis of intense discussions within the State Council and that the decision was not imposed by an external political authority.
Leaders of women’s rights organizations praised President Hosni Mubarak’s work to end discrimination. Farkhanda Hassan, Secretary General of the National Council for Women, said, “this approach truly reflects the equality women achieve and it came in light of the implementation of President Mubarak’s directives to stop discrimination against women, and expressed its confidence in the ability of women to work in the judiciary sector.”
August 27, 2009
The Egyptian economy expanded 4.7 percent in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009, beating forecasts by economists and the International Monetary Fund of 4 percent to 4.5 percent.
“The Egyptian economy is starting to overcome the financial crisis,” government spokesman Magdy Rady told reporters today in Cairo. Economic Development Minister Osman Mohamed Osman and Finance Minister Youssef Boutros-Ghali had announced the data earlier to Bloomberg News.
In the third quarter of the 2009 fiscal year the economy’s growth rate was 4.3 percent, and in the fourth quarter the growth rate increased to 4.6 percent.
“This proves that the economy was more resilient than expected,” said Mohamed Abu Basha, an economist at Cairo-based investment bank EFG-Hermes.
July 22, 2009
Business 24/7
Egypt's UAE investments increased to $3.9 billion by the end of April, a 34.5 percent increase over the previous year, according to Abdel Rahman A. Raouf, Commercial Counselor at the Egyptian Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The Counselor commented that there are still significant opportunities to increase the volume of trade exchange between Egypt and the UAE.
"Trade exchange between Egypt and the UAE increased threefold in 2007 and 2008, as it rose from $390 million in 2007 to $1.4 billion in 2008. We noticed in 2008 and the beginning of 2009 there is a big increase in exports and imports between the two countries and this is a result of the development of political relations," Counselor Raouf said.
The Counselor added, "Official statistics show foreign direct investments (FDI) in Egypt rose from $354.6 million in 2000 to $13.2 billion in 2008. The FDI in oil sector totaled $4.1 billion, while they arrived at $9.1 billion in non-oil sectors."
Egypt is an attractive investment for other countries and, based on the depth of its domestic economy, has enormous growth potential. In addition, it is close in proximity to key markets such as Europe, the Mediterranean, Africa and the Gulf states.
To read the full text of the article, please click here.
July 13, 2009
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani will meet in Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt, the Indian government confirmed Thursday.
Egypt will play host to the 15th Non-Aligned Movement Summit on July 15-16th and the two prime ministers are scheduled to meet beforehand.
An AFP article cited the reasons for the meeting as being an effort to achieve a normalcy of relations between the two countries; peace talks between the two countries have been suspended since the Mumbai terror attacks in November 2008.
To read the full text of the CNN article, please click here.
To read the full text of the AFP article, please click here.
July 7, 2009
Israeli President Shimon Peres will head to Cairo on Tuesday for talks with Egyptian counterpart Hosni Mubarak, his office said on Sunday.
The two presidents will discuss the latest developments in the Middle East peace process and the issue of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who was seized by Gaza Strip militants three years ago, it said in a statement.
Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement have been holding indirect talks via Egypt on a prisoner exchange that would see Shalit freed in return for the release of hundreds of Palestinians in Israeli jails.
Egypt is Israel's most important Arab ally and the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with the Jewish state.
July 2, 2009
In a Financial Times article by Michael Kavanagh, Egypt is listed among the countries registering the biggest improvement in levels of peace, according to the Global Peace Index.
A marked economic slowdown in the global economy and rising fuel and food prices combined to make the world a "slightly less peaceful place" according to the latest Global Peace Index.
Countries registering the biggest improvement in their levels of peace were Bosnia-Herzegovina, Angola, Congo Brazzaville, Egypt, and Trinidad and Tobago.
Not surprisingly, Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Israel and Sudan made up the bottom rankings, as they are the most affected by military conflict, civil war, and threat of attack.
To read the complete text of the article, please click here.
To view Global Peace Index Rankings, please click here.
June 29, 2009
Egyptian Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Dr. Tarek Mohamed Kamel, has signed a deal with Google to expand Arab-language content. He revealed it during a visit to Washington, D.C. last week where he met officials in the Obama administration and 'father of the internet' Vint Cerf.
Washington Times reporter Mark Kellner met with the Minister last week to discuss the Google deal, Egypt as an ICT hub in the Middle East, and internet freedom and governance issues.
During the interview, the Minister told the Times, "our (Egypt's) policy line has been always trying to keep the Internet open, trying to keep it as a platform really for development, socioeconomic development, open as much as we can."
"We try, on a regional level within the councils that we are a member [of], whether it is the African Council of Ministers ICT or the Arab Council of Ministers or ICT, to deliver the message to keep the Internet as open as we can, and as much as we can," he added.
Egypt is due to host the Internet Governance Forum in November at Sharm el Sheikh.
To read the full text of the article, please click here.
June 29, 2009
Egyptian Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Dr. Tarek Mohamed Kamel, has signed a deal with Google to expand Arab-language content. He revealed it during a visit to Washington, D.C. last week where he met officials in the Obama administration and ';father of the internet' Vint Cerf.
Washington Times reporter Mark Kellner met with the Minister last week to discuss the Google deal, Egypt as an ICT hub in the Middle East, and internet freedom and governance issues.
During the interview, the Minister told the Times, "our (Egypt's) policy line has been always trying to keep the Internet open, trying to keep it as a platform really for development, socioeconomic development, open as much as we can."
"We try, on a regional level within the councils that we are a member [of], whether it is the African Council of Ministers ICT or the Arab Council of Ministers or ICT, to deliver the message to keep the Internet as open as we can, and as much as we can," he added.
Egypt is due to host the Internet Governance Forum in November at Sharm el Sheikh.
To read the full text of the article, please click here.
June 19, 2009
The outlines of the settlement are obvious By HOSNI MUBARAK
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak outlined his vision for peace in the Middle East and a settlement between Israelis and Palestinians in an op-ed in today's Wall Street Journal.
"A historic settlement is within reach, one that would give the Palestinians their state and freedom from occupation while granting Israel recognition and security to live in peace. With President Obama's reassertion of U.S. leadership in the region, a rare moment of opportunity presents itself. Egypt stands ready to seize that moment, and I am confident that the Arab world will do the same." wrote Mubarak.
To read the full text of the op-ed, please click here.
To read coverage of the op-ed from Reuters, please click here.
June 15, 2009
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AFP
CAIRO - Egypt's parliament has passed a law allocating a quota of 64 seats in the lower house to women, in what a minister said on Monday was aimed at promoting their role in society.
The new law adopted on Sunday will give women more than 12 percent of the seats in an expanded parliament after the next election in 2010, Minister of Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Mufid Shehab said.
It raises the total number of seats in the People's Assembly from 454 - including 10 appointed by the president - to 518. Nine women were elected to parliament in the last election in 2005.
Parliament speaker Fathi Sorour described the law's approval as "an historic event" for Egyptian women.
To read the full text of the article, please click here.
June 11, 2009
Amro Hassan
Cairo, Egypt - It looks like there may be more women in the stuffy chambers of the Egyptian parliament. A new election law is set to include an additional 56 seats, all of which will be allocated to female candidates, according to Gamal Mubarak, the son of President Hosni Mubarak and a key figure in the ruling National Democratic Party.
In its convention this week, the NDP's policies committee agreed on a proposal to increase the number of seats in the People's Assembly to 510 from 454 during the next elections. Mubarak confirmed that the new elections law amendments should guarantee that at least 11 percent of the new parliament members will be women.
To read the full text of the article, please click here.
Egypt's 11 percent female representation in the legislature is not far behind the United States, where women make up 17 percent of the U.S. Congress. Conversely, Egypt is ahead of its neighbors: women make up 8 percent of Kuwait's parliament and women hold 2 percent of parliamentary seats in Lebanon.
June 9, 2009
By Nidal al-Mughrabi
CAIRO, June 9 (Reuters) - Egypt's intelligence chief held talks with Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal on Tuesday aimed at containing a crisis after West Bank raids by Western-backed Palestinian security forces on Hamas targets sparked clashes.
Damascus-based Meshaal's visit to Cairo is his first in many months, and the talks come two days after Egyptian officials met leaders from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah group, which launched last week's raids that killed nine people in ensuing violence in the West Bank city of Qalqilya.
Egyptian officials met with Ahmed Qurei on Sunday, who leads Fatah negotiators in Cairo-sponsored reconciliation talks, to find ways to sustain talks and end clashes, arrests and counter-arrests by forces loyal to Fatah and Hamas.
Hamas spokesman Taher al-Nono said Tuesday's talks would focus on the repercussions of last week's raids and hoped Egypt would help "compel the Palestinian Authority to stop the assaults against our people in the West Bank".
Egyptian mediators stepped up pressure on the groups to form a unity government by setting a July 7 deadline to bridge divisions. That would prepare the ground for a gradual restoration of unity and allow holding presidential and parliamentary election in January 2010.
To read the full text of the article, please click here.
June 4, 2009
Gamal Mubarak, son of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, was interviewed by ABC Co-Anchor Christopher Cuomo; the interview aired on ABC's Good Morning America immediately following President Obama's address to the Muslim World.
Mr. Mubarak commented on the U.S. role in the Middle East and President Obama's trip to the Middle East, "If you really want to address the real issue in the region, if you are to re-establish U.S. leadership in that very important part of the world, this is the beginning and the start of a message of respect, a message of understanding, a message of reaching out... this is a sign of strength."
Mr. Mubarak currently holds the position of Deputy Secretary General of the National Democratic Party (NDP) of Egypt, which holds a large majority of seats in the Egyptian parliament. He also heads the party's policies-setting committee within the NDP.
Please click here for video of the interview
Egyptian Prime Minister Doctor Ahmed Nazif was interviewed by CBS News Correspondent Lara Logan; the interview aired on the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric Wednesday evening, June 3.
Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif told Lara Logan that the speech came at a critical time. "Time is working against us," Nazif said. "I think time is of the essence - we need to work fast and this is the message we've been getting from the administration...and I think it's very important that it would happen in the first year of this administration."
The Prime Minister was primarily talking about ending violence between Israelis and Palestinians, "The Israeli-Palestinian issue is the core - you solve this problem and you'll find that many other issues have to fall in line," Nazif said.
Prime Minister Nazif, the second youngest prime minister in the history of modern Egypt, has led a team of technocrats which has successfully modernized Egypt's economy, reduced inflation and produced a number of significant constitutional reforms. He is also known for his expertise in information technology (IT) and telecommunications.
June 2, 2009
Muslims should not use weapons of mass destruction and possess them only as a deterrent, a top Islamic cleric says.
The Grand Mufti of Egypt Ali Gomaa said the use of Weapons of Mass Destruction would violate Islamic teachings, as Muslims as well as non-Muslims could be killed.
He issued the religious ruling, or fatwa, following reports that the use of such weapons was legitimate, the state news agency Mena said.
The Associated Press quoted the Grand Mufti as saying, "This constitutes a surprise (attack), and killing of the unaware. It is not sanctioned to kill them," Gomaa said. "This act also would necessitate killing and annihilating Muslims in those countries," which is unlawful in Islam. - Associated Press, May 31, 2009
His ruling comes just days before the visit to Cairo of U.S. President Barack Obama. Mr. Obama, who arrives on 4 June, is expected to give a speech on U.S. relations with the Muslim world.
To read the full text of the article, click here.
May 18, 2009
By SAMEH SHOKRY
Egypt's ambassador to the United States
The White House recently announced that President Barack Obama will deliver his much-anticipated address to the Muslim world from Egypt in early June. This decision has been warmly received and appreciated by Egyptians, Arabs and the Muslim world at large. Some may wonder why President Obama chose Egypt rather than other attractive venues
In my view, President Obama chose to address the leaders and people of the Muslim world from the very heart of the old world. His decision reflects an understanding of Egypt's rich civilization and its valuable contributions to intellectual thought and cultural exchange throughout the millennia. Along with its promotion of international tolerance, understanding and reconciliation in the modern world, these factors make Egypt the springboard of U.S. engagement in the Middle East.
Moreover, Egypt has long been the locomotive for political, economic and social development in the modern Middle East. It was in Egypt that the region saw its first constitution, its first parliament, and indeed the first to embody the institutions of a modern nation state, all of this dating to the early 19th century.
Thirty years ago, Egypt became the first Arab country to sign a peace accord with Israel and established the framework by which other Arab states and Israel have created their own peace. To this day, Egypt continues to work toward fostering a lasting peace between its neighbors, brokering a permanent cessation of hostilities in Gaza, holding Palestinian unity talks and confronting radical ideology within its own borders. In many ways, Egypt is the arbiter of peace and the force of moderation in the Middle East.
With more than 500 newspapers, journals and magazines and an estimated 162,000 bloggers, making up 30 percent of Arab bloggers worldwide, political discussion and debate within Egypt about the future of the Arab and Muslim world is extensive, and tends to set the tone for such debate among Arabs and Muslims.
Beyond the politics of the Middle East, Egypt is the Arab world's largest and most populous nation. Long at the center of Islamic intellectual thought and learning, Egypt's tradition of religious tolerance and cultural diversity embodies the ideals and values of moderate Islam. The Al Azhar University in Cairo is considered among the oldest seats of Islamic learning and has historically embodied the tradition of moderation and tolerance that characterized Egypt's religious heritage. Egypt is also home to the largest and one of the oldest Christian communities in the Middle East, making it a melting pot of religions and civilizations.
Egypt's broad efforts at economic liberalization have also been recognized by global leaders. For the third year in a row, Egypt has been named the top economic reformer in the Middle East by the World Bank's Doing Business project. This year, Egypt was also named one of the top 10 global reformers, and when many countries are seeing their economies contract, Egypt is expecting sustained growth.
Bilaterally, the United States and Egypt have enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship for decades. Defense Secretary Robert Gates recently stressed from Cairo that the United States considered Egypt one of its most important partners.
As President Obama eloquently put it, America "is not and will never be at war with Islam." His initiative comes at a very opportune time, and Egypt, America's longstanding friend and ally, is eager to work with the U.S. in advancing the causes of peace and stability in today's troubled world, and mending current relations between the West and Islam.
May 17, 2009
www.chinaview.cn | Editor: Fang Yang
Special Report: Palestine-Israel Conflicts
On Monday evening, Egypt allowed a European aid-laden convoy to cross into the blockaded Gaza Strip which is ruled by Islamic Hamas movement, officials in Gaza said.
The European aid convoy, called "Hope," included 39 European activists and 40 wagons of humanitarian aid holding food and medicine. It arrived at the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza on Sunday.
...Since June 2007... Israel and Egypt have only opened their border crossings with the Gaza Strip for humanitarian aids, fuels and medicine. Egypt, from time to time, opened its borders for Palestinians to receive medical treatment in Egypt.
The Hope aid convoy is the second that reaches Gaza since the end of Israel's 22-day military offensive on the Gaza Strip which ended on Jan. 18.
The first aid convoy with vehicles, ambulances and trucks, which was led by British member of Common House George Galloway, arrived in the Gaza Strip two weeks after the end of the Israeli offensive."
May 8, 2009
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Arab Republic of Egypt
Press Office - Minister's Cabinet
Cairo, Egypt - Egypt has sent 40 doctors to the western Sudan region to fill the gap which was the result of the expulsion of 13 aid groups working there. Sudanese authorities ordered out 13 foreign aid groups working in Darfur at the beginning of March following the ICC arrest warrant issued against Sudanese President Omer Al-Bashir.
A spokesman for the Egyptian Foreign Ministry stated that the convoy of doctors and medical supplies left Egypt on April 28th.
The Spokesman added that this convoy follows on Egypt's ongoing contribution to the peacekeeping efforts in Darfur, shown through Egypt's participation in a hybrid peacekeeping mission in Darfur at the end of March, as well as by projects that Egypt is undertaking to dig wells which will serve the inhabitants of the Sudan.
These initiatives reflect Egypt's intent to support the Sudanese people's efforts in their path towards peace and stability.
May , 20
Reuters
The number of mobile phone subscriptions in Egypt rose by 642,000 to 56.49 million in February, according to communications ministry data. The figures amount to a penetration rate of around 72 per cent, although industry executives and analysts estimate that some 20 to 25 per cent of the market involves second phones. January subscriptions were 55.848 million.
Most see room for growth up to around 65 million accounts, or 85 per cent of the population.
A year ago the three mobile firms -- Mobinil, Vodafone Egypt and Etisalat Egypt -- had 43.49 million subscribers in Egypt, whose population is 78 million.
The communications minister said in January that a fourth mobile licence could be offered depending on factors such as available spectrum and revenue as well as subscriber growth. The state-owned landline monopoly Telecom Egypt has expressed an interest in any new licence, holding off on a dividend payment last month ahead of a possible bid. Growth in subscriptions has slowed in recent months after jumping 1.67 million in December.
More than a million accounts had been created every month since late in 2008 as the three operators offered heavily discounted on-network plans to garner customers. In October subscriptions fell.
September , 20
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