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Al-Ahram Weekly 4 - 10 November 1999 Issue No. 454 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 4 - 10 November 1999 Issue No. 454
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Profile Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Air of optimism among presidents' men
By Niveen WahishA nine-member delegation representing the American side of the Egypt-US Presidents' Council was in Egypt last week for meetings with their Egyptian counterparts and ministers of the new cabinet of Prime Minister Atef Ebeid.
The Presidents' Council was formed in 1995 by President Hosni Mubarak and US Vice President Al Gore as one of the principal mechanisms of the Egyptian-US Partnership for Economic Growth and Development. Each side is represented by 15 members.
The week-long visit of the American members of the council was aimed at getting a better understanding of the latest developments in the Egyptian economic scene as well as engaging in discussions with the new ministers concerning how best the council can help them achieve their objectives in promoting economic growth and job creation in Egypt.
Michael Gadbaw, who leads the US side in the council, speaking at a press conference, said that Egypt was now open to investment and trade in ways that it had not been before and that it was looking to create more opportunities for Egyptians to manufacture and sell services and products in the United States and international markets. "We are here to understand and to be part of that process," Gadbaw said.
According to Gadbaw, during their meeting with Prime Minister Atef Ebeid, the delegates were reassured of the government's plans to move forward with privatisation. The delegation did not see any fundamental change in the privatisation strategy. But, as Gadbaw pointed out, the issue will be how quickly the government can proceed with privatisation, as this depends on the overall economic situation.
"They want to move as quickly as they can and are currently formulating what they want to do," said Gadbaw. "The new prime minister is someone who has an excellent appreciation of the private sector and the things that you need to do to promote the privatisation effort and the growth of a market-oriented economy," he added.
Gadbaw said that privatisation was more than just the sale of specific government enterprises. "It is creating an overall environment in which those companies can be successful, create employment and participate in the economy with cost-effective products."
Commenting on why direct US investment in Egypt remains low, Gadbaw said that this was changing as Egypt's economic environment evolves and reforms are carried out that make it possible for Americans to invest. He pointed out that there is already some US investment in the telecommunications, services, power generation and manufacturing sectors.
"Egypt is thinking and listening to what needs to be done to make it more attractive," he commented, adding that measures such as speedier privatisation, protection of copyright, transparency in government procurement and improvement of the taxation regime would encourage more investors to enter the Egyptian market.
