24 - 30 January 2002
Issue No.570
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 24 - 30 January 2002 Issue No.570 |
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'The whole picture'
The economy and the peace process were high on the list of topics that President Hosni Mubarak discussed at the opening of the Cairo Book Fair. Shaden Shehab reports
During his annual meeting with intellectuals and journalists at the opening of the 34th annual Cairo International Book Fair, President Hosni Mubarak expressed optimism about Egypt's economy and called for constructive action on the regional political front.
Addressing a packed hall on 17 January, Mubarak said, "The Egyptian economy has begun to gradually improve," but added that full recovery was still a long way off.
He stressed that economic hardships were aggravated by inaccurate reporting on the matter and urged journalists to ensure that they only publish correct information. The president also criticised the superficiality of some reports, calling on writers to present "the whole picture."
Homing in on the exchange rate as an example of irresponsible journalism, Mubarak said that it had been impacted by media hype. "Speculators take advantage of sensational reports. A news item can lead to severe foreign exchange imbalance," he said.
Mubarak said that some banks and financial institutions' ill- considered policies also had a negative affect on the economy, recounting that a bank sold $20 million to businessmen at a different rate from that set for the dollar by the Central Bank of Egypt.
Mubarak described the fluctuating pound-dollar exchange rate as natural. "The Egyptian pound is not immune [to international economic conditions]. But this does not mean that it should be left an easy prey for speculators. The government is eager to regulate the foreign exchange market through the Central Bank," Mubarak said. However, he emphasised that managing the exchange rate would not be at the expense of depleting the state's hard currency reserves. "I closely monitor the Central Bank reserves and I'll never allow it to erode under any circumstances," he said.
Discussing the causes of Egypt's predicament, Mubarak said, "The events of 11 September affected tourism, causing losses in the billions, and those are in addition to the financial strains caused by the haj and umra [pilgrimages], for which more than one million citizens have drained the economy of $4 billion to $5 billion."
Concerning imports, Mubarak said that the government was forced to levy additional duties to protect the national industry. He said that opening the Egyptian market entirely would have resulted in massive layoffs and the closure of factories. At the same time, he stressed the need to encourage domestic industry and called on industrialists to improve the quality of their products.
The president suggested that establishing an Arab common market would help Arab countries cope with the competition from other economic blocs.
Regarding the regional political situation, Mubarak said, "Israel wants to harm relations between Egypt and the US so that it can monopolise the American stage." However, "I won't permit this. Egyptian-American relations are special even if we disagree on some matters."
Mubarak characterised the Palestinian resistance as a natural reaction to the Israeli aggression, suggesting that instead of becoming involved in an arms race and violence, regional players should focus on trying to find solutions to the conflicts to "achieve stability" in the region.
The president, however, was pessimistic about the prospects for peace under the current Israeli leadership. "I don't believe that [Ariel] Sharon is eager to find a solution." He added that the continuing bloodshed and the incarceration of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat in Ramallah were detrimental to stability.
Concerning European predictions that Israel is preparing to effect a mass transfer of Palestinians, Mubarak warned that if that were the case, "it would be very dangerous, and terrorism against Israel and its supporters would probably increase."
Asked about his contact with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Mubarak said that they had spoken only once briefly on the telephone and that nothing had come of their conversation.
Contacts with Sharon were "the opposite of those with former [Israeli] prime ministers Menachem Begin and [Yitzhak] Rabin who, once they signed an accord, carried it out."
Concerning the promise by the US and Britain to support the establishment of a Palestinian state, Mubarak said that Egypt and other Arab countries were in contact with US President George W Bush "to contain the situation and begin implementing plans to bring about the establishment of a Palestinian state."
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