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Al-Ahram Weekly 18 - 24 February 1999 Issue No. 417 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 18 - 24 February 1999 Issue No. 417
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Special Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters A culture of cooperation
By Ibrahim Nafie
In Europe, the new year was marked by the inauguration of a single European currency. We in Egypt, and in the Arab world in general, have our own special reasons for keeping a close watch on events and developments in the North. Of the world's three major economic centres -- the US, Europe and Japan -- the EU is geographically closest, as well as being our prime trading partner and the largest source, after the Arab world, of foreign investment in Egypt.
Developments in Europe have also coincided with momentous developments in Egypt. The early '90s saw the launching of the most ambitious economic development programme in this country's modern history. The structural adjustment policies introduced under this programme have been so successful at improving Egypt's economic situation that Egypt is now firmly placed in a prominent position on the map of the world's rising market economies.
Egypt's current strategy aims to integrate the Egyptian economy into the international economy in a manner that best achieves our national interests. The wisdom of this orientation has been evidenced by long years of excessive economic protectionism, a policy which, we now know, can only lead to isolation and deprive the Egyptian economy of the benefits of cooperation with the world community. Egypt certainly has much to offer the global economy. But we must not forget that the world can also bring many advantages to the Egyptian people, especially the low- and limited-income groups that are the primary concern of the Egyptian government.
President Mubarak's anticipated visit to a number of major European capitals, including Bonn and Rome, as well as his recent visits to Paris and Davos, fit neatly within the framework of Egypt's comprehensive vision for economic cooperation. The enormous "workshop" that is taking place in Egypt at present requires strong diplomatic support if it is to come to full fruition.
We live in a world where two processes -- economic globalisation and the coalescence of new economic blocs through regional integration -- are occurring simultaneously. It is important to emphasise the fact that economic blocs, however, are not just a larger form of the old protectionism. Nor are they a manifestation of a transitional phase to a unified world economy. Rather, they represent a distinct, yet integral, part of the world economic system, and perform specific functions that no other structures or arrangements can fulfil. On one hand, they facilitate the integration of individual states into the world economic order. On the other, they provide a cohesive framework to counter the negative effects of globalisation -- the same effects which have shaken so many countries in the past year, from Latin America to southeast Asia, and which provided the focus of the recent Davos Forum.
Today's international mechanisms and institutions do not have the practical capacity to control a unified world economy in a manner that benefits all the parties equally. In fact, these very institutions and mechanisms can be instrumental in generating major economic crises that hamper the development efforts of many countries, from developing nations such as Indonesia and Thailand to industrialised countries such as Japan.
Economic blocs, in contrast, furnish a broad yet cohesive framework for the expansion and the regulation of economic transactions. It is no coincidence that many of the countries hardest hit by the recent economic crisis do not belong to influential regional groupings. On the other hand, many of the countries that were not badly damaged in the process owe their strength to the fact that they have grown resilient through their participation in such powerful blocs as the EU and NAFTA.
For Egypt, as well as for other countries in the Arab world, the Arab region is the obvious, natural choice for regional integration. But, as everyone knows, this choice has also been beset with difficulties. Arab regional economic integration has been on the agenda for decades, yet we have only just set into motion the Arab Free Market Zone -- a major step towards the eventual creation of an Arab Common Market.
Because there is so much more serious work to be done if we are to build a powerful Arab economic bloc, the Arab world, and especially Egypt, must also strengthen their links with the powerful economic blocs that have become so pivotal in the world today. Only in so doing will we buttress the frail Arab economic order and protect ourselves against the vicissitudes of globalisation.
We must keep in mind, however, that enhancing our economic ties with the EU cannot replace the efforts we make to unify our economic programmes. Such ties are not and cannot be substitutes for the establishment of an Arab bloc. On the contrary, our relations with Europe must be seen as an essential and complimentary ingredient of progress toward the aim of Arab economic integration, at a time when the nascent Arab framework is still unable to respond fully and effectively to Arab aspirations.
Of course, building strong relations with Europe is not a temporary palliative, to be abandoned as soon as the Arab framework for cooperation has been set up. Even when we reach the highest standards of institutional maturity, we will continue to need benefits that can only be obtained through our continued links with the world's powerful economic blocs, and especially with the EU -- the natural candidate for economic partnership with the Arab world.
The level of Arab integration we have already achieved would not have been possible without building on our links with Europe. Most of our successful steps toward establishing an Arab Free Trade Zone occurred in tandem with our work within the European-Mediterranean Partnership, embodied in the Barcelona Declaration of 1995. Through participation in this partnership with Europe, the Arabs have acquired valuable information and expertise in the creation of strong regional economic relations. These benefits -- direct information and expertise, but also the opportunity to witness the daily mechanisms of cooperation and unification -- are the cumulative products of more than 40 years of European experience in working towards economic integration. Such integration, we must remember, does not happen overnight; nor does its achievement mean we can rest on our laurels. On the contrary, integration is hard and on-going work. Once the legal framework has been set up, the real work begins: the day-to-day complications, difficulties and realities of unity and cooperation.
The European-Mediterranean Partnership has also offered the Arab nations opportunities to coordinate their own positions over a range of new and fundamental issues. Our relationship with Europe, through the institutions brought into being by the Barcelona Declaration, has galvanised the Arabs into reaching a higher level of coordination over economic issues than ever before. It is not surprising that the very Arab nations most committed to the goal of establishing an Arab Common Market are also the nations that have demonstrated the greatest seriousness in enhancing European-Mediterranean integration.
Economic cooperation and integration are as much questions of expertise and culture as they are questions of practical technicalities and institutional frameworks. It is sad but true that past circumstances have deprived the Arab world of the sufficient opportunity to acquire the culture of cooperation. Our closer relations with Europe have afforded and will continue to afford us an important avenue for making up for lost time.
