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Al-Ahram Weekly 30 March - 5 April 2000 Issue No. 475 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 30 March - 5 April 2000 Issue No. 475
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Special Focus Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons A strategic partnership
By Thomas GorguissianPresident Hosni Mubarak met with representatives of the Egyptian Community at Blair House on Sunday. About 30 people from different professions and from various states attended. Also present were clerics from the Coptic Church and editors-in-chief of Egyptian newspapers. The meeting was described as "very cordial", while both the president's speech and his answers to questions posed him were frank and direct.
Information Minister Safwat El-Sherif briefed reporters afterwards about the issues raised at the meeting, among them Egypt's political stability and economic achievements. The president stressed the need for Egyptians living in the United States to play an active role in forging the future of their homeland.
The discussion was wide-ranging. Some of those attending raised the issue of hospital conditions, and the quality of nursing, and the vital need to improve them. Others proposed means and ways to promote trade between Egypt and the United States.
The president, once again, affirmed the strength of national unity, describing himself as the president of all Egyptians. He said he was proud of the "national fabric," stressing that he does not make any distinction between Muslims and Christians. "Faith is a personal matter and all live under the flag of Egypt," the president said.
Mubarak argued that reports in the foreign press and media about sectarian strife back home misrepresented what is really going on in Egypt.
A Coptic priest read out a message sent by the head of the Coptic Orthodox Church, Pope Shenouda III, asking expatriate Copts to give a cordial welcome to President Mubarak during his week-long visit.
"I would like you to welcome President Hosni Mubarak warmly, and in a manner befitting the president of our country, Egypt," Pope Shenouda said. "President Mubarak is doing his utmost for peace in our country and I have personally felt his sincere sentiments towards Copts."
During the president's visit, the Council on Egyptian-American Relations was launched, with the aim of "establishing special relationships with both the American and Egyptian governments and providing both of them with an atmosphere in which policies can be discussed in a dispassionate and positive manner in both the short and long terms." The mission statement added, "It is the Council's intention to strike a balance between the integrity of the Council as an independent forum and maintaining close ties with both governments."
As co-founder and Council President Ibrahim M Oweiss told Al-Ahram Weekly, the Council will attempt to correct misconceptions about Egypt and promote its image abroad. "Egypt needs to be better understood," said Oweiss, who is a professor of economics at Georgetown University. He noted that many Egyptian-Americans wish to serve as "a bridge, not a gap," between the two cultures.
In the inaugural ceremony, which was held on 24 March, Mamoun Fandi, co-founder and executive director of the Council, cited more than one example of those bridges between the Nile and the Mississippi Rivers. Fandi is himself a professor of political science at Georgetown University's Center for Contemporary Arab Studies.
Ambassador Robert Pelletreau, former assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs, spoke about the importance of the Egyptian-American relationship, praising that partnership over the last two decades, for its role in guaranteeing the security and stability of the entire region.
"There is today a solid mutual respect between our leaders and a realisation that when we work together, Egypt and the United States are a powerful force that can accomplish more than either of us could alone for the benefit of our respective interests and the region," Pelletreau, a former ambassador to Egypt, said. "It is safe to predict that this partnership between our two nations and peoples will continue to prove its value in the years ahead."
The Council on Egyptian-American Relations also announced the publication of the first of a planned series of policy papers. Written by Fandi, it bears the title Post-Settlement Middle East and the Future of Egyptian-American Relations.
To help the concerned actors envisage the future of Egyptian-American relations, Foreign Minister Amr Moussa proposed that a conference be held in Washington next year under the title, "The Egyptian-American Partnership in the First Quarter of the 21st Century". This conference, Moussa said in his address to the Council's inaugural banquet, "will be a most propitious opportunity to address the prospects and opportunities of this relationship, especially in its economic dimension."
Moussa affirmed that "the road between Washington and Cairo is a straight one. Our ties -- in their historical, military, political, economic and cultural dimensions -- are crucial and strategic in their own right, and should not be held hostage to any other relationship. This will not only undermine mutual interests, but it would jeopardise regional stability as a whole," he added.
That this relationship has indeed been held "hostage" to Israel's wishes and demands is one of the more obvious and unfortunate realities of the past few years. The challenge now is to confront that reality, in order to try and change it. This will not be an easy task.
Yet the Council on Egyptian-American Relations may be a step in the right direction. Thomas Pickering, under-secretary of state, attended the Council's inaugural ceremony, as did Edward Walker, assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs. Pickering in particular commended the Council "for increasing dialogue between our intellectuals, our academics, and the many elements of civil society in our two countries." Addressing the gathering, he added, "Your efforts give new depth and dimension to this critical relationship."
On Tuesday afternoon a group of Egyptian and Arab-American personalities had a two-hour meeting at the White House with presidents Clinton and Mubarak. The meeting was attended by Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Foreign Minister Moussa. The eight Egyptians present included Nobel laureate Ahmed Zweil, Farouq El-Baz, Ismail Serageddin and Ibrahim Oweiss. "It was an unprecedented meeting", commented James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, for it was the first time that an American president convened a gathering of Arab-American leaders with a visiting head of government.
Serageddin, for his part, described the occasion as "a great step", adding that the discussion was open and frank. A wide variety of issues was raised, including the Middle East peace process, sanctions against Iraq and the US-Egyptian relationship.
