3 - 9 May 2001
Issue No.532
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 3 - 9 May 2001 Issue No.532 |
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Trade and diplomacy
Ibrahim Nafie assesses the results of President Mubarak's recent trip to Russia, Romania and Germany
President Hosni Mubarak's recent tour of Romania, Germany and Russia, though brief, was fruitful. Not that success was not to be anticipated. Egypt is bound to these countries by a long history of mutual respect and cooperation and Mubarak personally enjoys close ties with their leaders. They, in turn, have repeatedly expressed their admiration for the Egyptian president's dedication to enhancing the prospects for regional peace and security and to promoting Egypt as an emerging economic power. In addition, these countries share Egypt's desire to enhance bilateral relations, towards which end they are keen to eliminate all possible legal and administrative obstacles that stand in the way of fostering the best possible climate for nurturing the growth and fulfillment of their mutual interests.
If the primary intent of the president's tour was to expand and deepen the scope of bilateral relations with these countries it came, too, amid growing concern over the threat to regional stability posed by the aggressive line the current Israeli government has taken towards the situation in Palestine. The president therefore used his tour to promote the Egyptian-Jordanian initiative aimed at restoring calm to the occupied territories and to bringing the Palestinians and Israelis back to the negotiating table. That this initiative met with wholehearted support in Romania, Germany and Russia was, in large measure, due to the efforts the president undertook to drive home to officials and the public in these countries the alarming regional and international consequences of spiraling violence. The unqualified support the German, Romanian and Russian leaders demonstrated for the initiative was a vote of confidence in Egypt's pivotal role as an arbiter of peace, and undoubtedly this esteem for Egyptian diplomacy was another major factor that helped make talks on bilateral issues so constructive.
Nevertheless, it is a fact of bilateral relations in the world today that the language of mutual interest has come to prevail over the rhetoric of ideology. Mutual interest is measured in tangible facts and figures, in volumes of trade and investment, the scope of mutual cooperation agreements, the projected potential of joint enterprises and the like. The president's visits to Germany, Romania and Russia represented a practical application of this language of realism, and with excellent results.
In visiting Berlin Mubarak had several specific objectives. These included raising the volume of German investment in Egypt, reducing Egypt's trade deficit with Germany, increasing levels of German technical and financial aid to Egypt and expanding the scope of cooperation in technological transfer and education. There can be no doubt that he accomplished his objectives. In acknowledgement of Egypt's progress in structural reform, Bonn approved Cairo's request to transfer $212 million of the debt Egypt is scheduled to pay Germany from 2001-2005 to a fund for financing economic development programmes. Bonn also agreed to allocate DM 75 million this year to a plan intended to substitute development projects for debts and to carry over DM 27 million of its technical aid to Egypt last year for current expenditure. In the field of economic cooperation, Cairo and Bonn concluded an agreement to establish a German university for science and technology in Egypt.
The volume of trade between Egypt and Romania currently stands at only $188 million. Mubarak's talks in Bucharest focused on all available opportunities to stimulate cooperation in trade, tourism and education and on broadening the scope for private sector participation in this process. The two sides also discussed many possible joint Egyptian-Romanian ventures in petrochemical and heavy industries, one of which was to resume the manufacture in Egypt of the sturdy Romanian tractors that have been so popular with Egyptian farmers.
Egypt and Russia share a keen interest in enhancing bilateral relations through more extensive cooperation and in reviving bilateral trade, the volume of which had at one time reached $1 billion. One aim of Mubarak's visit to Moscow was to address the serious drop in the volume of trade, which for several years now has stood at $500 million. Here, too, Mubarak's visit was successful, producing agreements to furnish mechanisms to stimulate trade and to facilitate the entrance of Egyptian exports into Russian markets. In addition, in answer to the qualms of Egyptian exporters, it was agreed that the Russia Foreign Trade Bank would furnish guarantees for Egyptian exports to Russia.
Perhaps the most encouraging outcome of this trip was the Declaration of the Principles of Friendship and Cooperation that was signed by Presidents Mubarak and Putin. Covering cooperation in a broad array of technical, economic and scientific fields, this agreement reflects the mutually held conviction that fostering closer Egyptian-Russian ties depends not only on establishing areas of political concord but also on extending and diversifying the scope of mutual interests and developing the practical mechanisms to back them up. By way of illustration, it should suffice here to note that the principles of this declaration range from support for the Egyptian-Jordanian initiative and enhancing systems to prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction to commitments to strengthening commercial, scientific and technological relations through research seminars, trade exhibitions, technical cooperation between banking institutions, closer contacts between Russian and Egyptian academic institutions and regular consultations between their respective foreign ministries. If the encouragement of sporting and cultural exchanges received their share of attention in this declaration, so too did military concerns, in which regard Russia has pledged to continue to maintain and enhance the performance of Russian military equipment in Egypt.
The success of Mubarak's European tour epitomises, on the one hand, Egypt's conviction that furthering its assimilation into the global economy is the best means of realising domestic development and progress and, on the other, the efficacy of Egyptian diplomacy in expanding the opportunities for Egyptian exports and attracting investment to Egypt. Nevertheless, while the results of the tour are highly promising, we must not ignore the considerable work that must be done to put agreements into effect and to monitor their progress. It still remains, too, for Egyptian manufacturers and exporters to take advantage of the doors Egyptian diplomacy has opened for them. The success of the president's European tour is worth rejoicing, but we should not allow ourselves to become complacent.
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