16 - 22 August 2001
Issue No.547
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 16 - 22 August 2001 Issue No.547 |
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'In America's national interest'
Ahead of his arrival in Cairo, United States Ambassador-Designate David Welch affirmed America's commitment to the restoration of stability in the Middle East. Welch spoke to Egyptian correspondents in Washington, including Thomas Gorguissian
The United States will soon have a new ambassador to Egypt: David Welch, a career diplomat with lengthy experience in senior foreign policy positions. Last week, before taking a vacation with his family prior to coming to Egypt, Ambassador Welch met Egyptian reporters in Washington's Foreign Press Centre. It was a meeting of introduction, not a press conference with "breaking news."
David Welch
"My goals as ambassador to Egypt are very straightforward," Ambassador Welch told the assembled reporters. "I realise the centrality and the importance of this relationship to the US. My charge from the president and from the Secretary of State is to maintain, to support and to improve that relationship. I think we enjoy a good friendship with Egypt, we have great confidence in its leadership. For some time now it has been the centrepiece of our foreign policy in the Arab world."
He continued, "I am grateful to be given the opportunity to make a contribution to that. I intend to do that with energy and diligence when I get to Cairo. I have to say that this is a very big opportunity for me, personally and professionally."
As expected, Ambassador Welch avoided going into details about Washington's position, usually undecided, and mostly biased, in recent months regarding Israeli brutality and excessive use of force against the Palestinians. His diplomatic reply when this was raised was, "I must introduce myself to the government of Egypt formally before I start talking about matters that are on the table." Speaking generally, he stressed, "We believe peace in the Middle East is in the national interest of the American people, not only the people of that region. And we continue to work at it." And when he was asked about reported divisions in the administration on policies related to the Middle East, Ambassador Welch admonished the reporters. "Don't believe everything you read in the newspapers," he said. "We have one policy under the leadership of our president. The Secretary of State is in charge of discharging that. And I don't think you will find people any more committed to the pursuit of peace and restoration of stability in this area."
"It is a fundamental objective in the American foreign policy. We are not going to waver from it," he added,
Ambassador Welch is not new to the region. From March 1995 to October 1998, he served as principal deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, under ambassadors Robert Pelletreau and Martin Indyk. Before that, Ambassador Welch was chargé d'affaires and then deputy chief of mission in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He was a member of the National Security Council staff at the White House from 1989 to 1991, under then President George Bush. During the 1980s, Ambassador Welch worked as Political Counsellor at the US Embassy in Amman and as chief of the political section in Damascus.
"I am particularly excited to go to Egypt, since it is in many respects the centre of everything in the Arab world. It is a global player diplomatically. It has -- in my estimation -- one of the most capable diplomatic services with which I have worked in my career," Ambassador Welch told the reporters. He also said, "It is an interesting, vibrant society and it has a very strong serious leadership under his excellency President Mubarak. Egypt is also a very close friend to the United States."
And when he was asked about the future of the strategic dialogue between the two countries, launched three years ago, Ambassador Welch said, "I have always thought we had a strategic dialogue with Egypt and its leadership. Our work as diplomats is to package those dialogues in some manner and find an institutional framework for their conduct." He also mentioned that "a pretty friendly, energetic and vigorous discussion" was taking place between the leaders of the two countries, adding, "I think more can be done in this area, though. And you will see in the coming weeks and months very strong evidence of a dialogue at a strategic level between our nations."
Ambassador Welch also tried to explain, or justify, why sometimes -- if not often -- Congress members have taken biased pro-Israel positions, harshly criticising Egypt, and asking to cut off financial assistance for it. "Congress constantly renews its interest in subjects" and, accordingly, takes positions, he said; and the administration does have a role to play and should discharge that. "We must communicate," Welch explained, adding, "I think the seriousness, the moderation and the wisdom of the president of Egypt communicates itself very well to official Americans and to regular Americans. The government of Egypt has stood for moderation, stability and peaceful negotiations for years now. This is a basic, very simple and very effective message. But like every other political message, it must always be brought home and sometimes it is needed most in the times of great stress."
The subject of enhancing economic progress in Egypt was also brought up. "I'm particularly keen to see more American investment in Egypt; I think that's good for American business and it's also good for jobs in Egypt," Ambassador Welch said.
"The Egyptian market is of great interest to us -- and I think that there is a lot to be done there. Free trade agreements are a tough process here internally in our government, and I'm sure you've been monitoring the progress of some. There's also the issue out there of the president's focus on getting fast track authority for negotiating trade agreements. That's an enabling factor in addressing trade agreements with all countries, and thus has to be a priority for the administration."
Ambassador Welch was born in Munich, Germany, in 1953. His father was an American diplomat. He grew up abroad. and did not live in the US until he was 17. He is married to Gretchen Gerwe Welch, who is also a foreign service officer. They met on what was the first tour for both, in Pakistan in 1980, and have three daughters -- Emma, born in 1988 in Jordan; Molly, born in 1991 in Washington; and Hannah, born in 1993 in Saudi Arabia. They, too are excited to be moving to Cairo, "near the Pyramids," as one of the girls said.
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