5 - 11 July 2001
Issue No.541
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 5 - 11 July 2001 Issue No.541 |
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Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara -- the city names are evocative of a fabulous civilisation; they hold pride of place in Islamic history. Yet what of their present? On the eve of the 10th anniversary of Uzbekistan's independence, Fatemah Farag tags along for a meeting of the Egyptian-Uzbek Cooperation Committee
Banking on a common heritage
Egyptian-Uzbek ties have a lot going for them. Why do they remain "minimal"?
"We must defend our position and strengthen our institutions to meet the challenge of the powerful trends of universal banking. We must meet the challenge with confidence sharpened by knowledge, and you must think of yourselves as equals and know you can be as successful as the most successful. In Egypt, we look forward to working with you towards these aims," Shawki Farag, head of the Egyptian Banking Institute (EBI), told a group of youthful Uzbek bankers attending a training programme on investment activities organised by EBI in Tashkent.
As the meeting continued, the third session of the Joint Governmental Committee for Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation between Egypt and Uzbekistan was underway only a few streets away to work out the detailed draft of a protocol for co-operation. Headed by Minister of International Co-operation Ahmed El-Darsh, the Egyptian delegation included representatives from, among others, the Customs Authority and the military production sector. "There is no doubt that this group of [former Soviet Islamic republics] represents an important potential market for Egypt, and the objective of the meetings we held here was to discuss potential areas of cooperation such as investment, travel, health, pharmaceutical production and culture, to name just some. The legal aspects of all these potential areas was the focus of our meetings which I would describe as fruitful," El-Darsh told Al-Ahram Weekly.
Indeed, over the past decade, many in Egypt, both officials and experts, have emphasised the importance of developing strong political and, in particular, economic and cultural ties with the Islamic republics of the former Soviet Union. Shared Islamic heritage, Egypt's erstwhile close ties with the Soviet Union and the common experience of transition from planned to market economies have been cited as significant factors contributing to strong cooperation.
"To be able to assess our relations with Uzbekistan and the Islamic republics of Central Asia in general we must understand history," said Mamdouh Shawkat, Egypt's ambassador to Uzbekistan, who is currently winding up his four-year term of service in Tashkent. "Some of the most important Islamic scholars come from this region: Al-Bukhari in the realm of Sunna, Ibn Sina, Al-Bayrouni, Al-Zamakhshari and Al- Kawarizmi in the sciences. In Cairo, the area of Al-Azbakia was given its name because of an Uzbek who came to Cairo and built a mosque there. The Nilometer was developed by Mohamed El- Ferghani, who came from Wadi Ferghan (in Uzbekistan). Despite the great distances separating Egypt from this region, our forefathers were not strangers; they were brought together by ties much stronger than distance."
Since then, however, some civilisations have crumbled, others have flourished, and the world has become a different place. "After the dissolution of the Soviet Union it became necessary for us to re-examine our relationship with these countries. After all, the people here are Muslims like us, and for more than 70 years they were ruled by Communism. We are also, therefore, bound by a moral obligation," he added.
This is easier said than done, however. El-Darsh told the Weekly that, to date, the volume of trade between Egypt and Uzbekistan was "so minimal I would rather not mention the figure."
According to El-Darsh, negotiations towards cooperation grappled with basic issues. "To start with, the legal framework for cooperation did not exist. Then there was the lack of transport. The fact that both national airlines have no flights between our capitals is indicative," he said. Representatives of both airlines are currently discussing the cost-effectiveness of regular flights between Cairo and Tashkent.
In the meantime, however, the ground bridging the distance between the two countries is being covered in incremental steps. "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and in particular its Egyptian Partnership for Technical Assistance Programme, supports several cooperation initiatives, such as the banking training programme. We also finance the study of Uzbek students in Egypt in many fields from diplomacy to agriculture. They also have experts in areas such as energy and mining -- the traffic is two-way," Shawkat said.
Another prominent aspect of cultural cooperation is language study. "There is a great demand here to learn Arabic. We have six language centres, five of which are outside the capital. These are manned by Egyptian teachers and include libraries and computer services. We believe these programmes are important not only to spread the Arabic language, but also because they give people access to reading the Qur'an on their own, and not be dependent on what some tell them is true faith," the ambassador said.
For its part, the Egyptian press office in Uzbekistan is busy at all times: ensuring the screening of Egyptian television programmes and films, organising competitions about Egypt in the local press and disseminating news about the Arab world throughout Uzbek media.
It helps that, politically, the viewpoints of the two states are described as "identical." This, representatives of both governments assert, includes such issues as the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, the peace process in the Middle East and the rejection of Islamist militancy. The Egyptian ambassador was keen to point out the regard the two countries have for each other. "The Uzbeks see Egypt in a special light," he said. "It is noteworthy that they only have two embassies in the Arab world; one is in Saudi Arabia (where there is a large resident Uzbek community estimated at three quarters of a million) and the other in Cairo. In Tashkent, we are one of five Arab diplomatic entities in Uzbekistan, the others being the embassies of Palestine and Algeria and the consular offices of Jordan and Saudi Arabia."
Some analysts indicate that perhaps the drive towards strengthening bilateral relations is not strong enough, and that in the meantime potential markets and opportunities are being lost. They point to Israeli exports to Uzbekistan and the three weekly flights by Uzbek Airways to Tel Aviv. They also cite United States corporate control of the largest gold mine in the world, which is in Uzbekistan.
It is not too late, according to Minister El-Darsh. "We have not missed much," he says. "In general, we adopt an open door-policy, and see that it is to our benefit to open up as many channels of trade cooperation as possible. But we, the government, can only put the framework for such relations into place. It is up to the private sector to follow up." He adds: "Long gone are the days of directed investment. It is our duty to set the stage, but we do not dictate to the private sector what to do."
Senior diplomatic sources told the Weekly that, for trade to prosper between the two countries, it was up to the Uzbeks to facilitate cooperation. For example, the inconvertibility of currency remained a serious hindrance, as did government control of vital sectors such as cotton exports.
After four years of efforts to enhanced cooperation, Shawkat concluded: "The Arab world is very much absorbed in our own problems, and to develop relations with this part of the world requires more awareness. With the programmes we have in place we generate momentum, but perhaps a new strategy needs to be thought out."
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