 |
Al-Ahram Weekly 17 - 23 June 1999 Issue No. 434 
|
||
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
| ||
|
Al-Ahram Weekly 17 - 23 June 1999 Issue No. 434
|
||
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
| ||
Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Features Living Travel Sports Time Out Chronicles People Cartoons Letters Informing foreign affairs
By Amira HoweidyThe Egyptian Council on Foreign Affairs was officially launched yesterday at a special ceremony at the Cairo Opera House. Registered as an NGO with the Ministry of Social Affairs, the Council's board of directors includes an array of diplomats, academics, military specialists and businessmen. A statement issued by the Council said the founders agreed on the need to "invigorate and stimulate the profound and far-reaching interaction between Egypt and its regional and international environment as the world steps into the 21st century."
The Council aims to promote a "deep and objective" understanding of all external affairs, regional as well as international, in order to serve the nation's strategic, economic and political interests. The board includes such notables as Mohamed Ibrahim Shaker, a former ambassador to London, acting as board chairman, Osama El-Ghazali Harb, chief editor of Al-Ahram's Al-Siyassah Al-Dawliya (International Politics), as secretary-general as well as business tycoons Naguib Sawiris of Orascom and Ismail Othman of the Arab Contractors Company.
The board also includes Abdel-Raouf El-Ridi, a former ambassador to Washington, Alieddin Hilal, dean of Cairo University's Faculty of Political Science and renowned intellectual Mohamed Sid-Ahmed.
"We want to air views on foreign policy, regardless of whether they are in line with official foreign policy or not," Shaker told Al-Ahram Weekly. "We certainly have no intention of acting as an opposition group. We will express non-partisan views. Supporting or contradicting the government is not our objective."
Like its prestigious American counterpart, the Council's activities will include the organisation of conferences, seminars and workshops to promote research in foreign affairs, in cooperation with universities, institutes and research centres. The Council will also publish a journal in Arabic, English and French, expressing Egyptian views on foreign issues as well as providing a forum for the views of non-Egyptian writers. "It is very important for domestic and foreign public opinion to have a grasp of the mainstream trends in Egypt," Shaker said.
Stressing its total independence, Shaker said the Council has no affiliation with the Foreign Ministry or any other governmental body. It will be financed by membership fees, donations, contributions and any other resources approved by the board of directors. Steps may be taken to establish a special fund, providing regular and stable financing for the Council.
The reason for the inclusion of such business figures as Sawiris and Othman on the board is that they have business interests abroad and are therefore affected, positively or negatively, by Egypt's external relations, said Shaker. "We also need their financial support because we do not accept foreign donations," he added.
Asked why the Council was established as an NGO rather than a research centre, Shaker said the founders were keen on establishing a body drawing on a wide range of intellectual fields. Members include engineers, former military officers, lawyers, writers, former diplomats and academics. "We wanted such an array and an NGO was the only platform that allowed this. A think-tank or a research centre would have been more academically-oriented," Shaker said.
The Council's activities will begin in September although the publication of the journal remains an "ambition" Shaker hopes to achieve within a year or two. Meanwhile, members will be holding discussions and seminars and keeping a close eye on important foreign visitors whom the Council may invite to deliver lectures or meet with board members.
