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Al-Ahram Weekly 13 - 19 May 1999 Issue No. 429 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 13 - 19 May 1999 Issue No. 429
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Features Books Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters NDP prioritises exports
By Nevine Khalil
THE NATIONAL Democratic Party's (NDP) economic conference, held this week, focused on ways to improve and promote Egypt's export record which hovers at around $5 billion a year, compared with a staggering $17 billion in imports. The conference, the seventh such meeting by the NDP, ended on Sunday with the recommendation that "all government policies and programmes should be streamlined to increase exports."
President Hosni Mubarak, inaugurating the conference on Saturday in his capacity as NDP chairman, said joint private sector and government bodies should be set up to coordinate export and import policies, in particular to cut transport costs.
He said it was up to the government to create the right atmosphere for exports and investments to thrive, and to join international economic groups, such as Africa's COMESA and the developing world's G-15, host economic conferences and monitor the quality of export goods.
The conference also highlighted the need to increase the contribution of small producers and small projects to boost exports.
The conference's recommendations affirmed "the pressing need to find ways to redress the imbalance between the volumes of imports and exports". Participants, who included Prime Minister Kamal El-Ganzouri, the ministers of economy, finance, international cooperation and information, NDP members of parliament and leading businessmen, agreed that funds must be earmarked for the "continued monitoring of international markets," and finding ways to "comprehensively and seriously address the problems facing Egyptian exports and exporters".
The conference recommendations called upon all executive and export bodies to promote Egypt's economic achievements. They also called upon all parties involved to present "a clear vision of dealing with export problems and adopting advanced ideas in promoting new export activities". These activities could include programming, education, scientific research, financial and monetary services.
