9 - 15 May 2002
Issue No.585
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 9 - 15 May 2002 Issue No.585 |
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Knocking on the right doors?
The American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt sent its annual mission to Washington last week. The delegates urged their hosts to push harder for a settlement to the political crisis gripping the Middle East. Thomas Gorguissian writes from Washington
For the past two decades, year on year, a "Doorknock Mission" from the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt (AmCham) has visited Washington DC, seeking out new investment opportunities and bringing information on the business climate in Egypt to America. This time, however, the usual commercial bonhomie was pushed into the background. The delegates arrived bearing an urgent political message: a better and a wiser approach from Washington is required to bring peace to the region.
From day one of this year's mission (entitled "Egypt: The Strategic Partner"), the concerns of the delegates were impossible to neglect. "What we wish to emphasise most is that there cannot be successful trade or economic development without peace in the region," said AmCham Egypt President Mohamed Mansour, adding that the United States has a dominant role to play and must lead efforts to reach a just settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The need for the US to play an active and positive role as "honest broker" was firmly conveyed to US Vice-President Dick Cheney on the first day of the mission's week in Washington. At the end of that meeting, which lasted 40 minutes instead of the scheduled 20, the vice-president agreed with the AmCham delegates about the need to continue and deepen communication between the United States and its Arab allies. According to the delegates, the deep outrage seen on the streets of Cairo and other Arab capitals in recent weeks was also communicated to Cheney "very clearly and very directly" as Hamed Fahmy, vice-president of AmCham put it. "There is a major problem in the region due to the violence. And that major problem is not [only] an Israeli problem. It is an American problem as well," Fahmy said. He added that a more balanced policy was needed, combined with "extra effort to achieve peace and bring stability back to the region."
That first meeting with Cheney set the tone for those that followed. For the next five days, the delegates packed their schedule with visits to senior administration officials, members of Congress and representatives of think-tanks, international institutions and the American media. Also on the agenda were meetings with Arab-American advocacy groups.
"During our meetings, we took the opportunity to express to America's leaders and opinion makers Egypt's commitment to peace and fighting terrorism. We also expressed how important it is to the people in the region for the US to be perceived as an 'honest broker' in the Palestinian/Israeli conflict," Thomas Thomason, vice-president for legal affairs of AmCham, told Al-Ahram Weekly. The main message of the business mission, as Thomason defined it, was, "Peace in the region is the
objective for everyone and for it to happen, strong leadership and participation by the US is required. Without peace and the resulting stability, we cannot have the economic development and growth which is in everyone's interest."
The 22-member delegation had the chance to meet about 50 lawmakers and many of their staffers to discuss the current disturbing situation and tensions in the Middle East and the "potential impact" on US interests. "What we are doing is an awareness issue...There is a need for knowledge and communication," pointed out Hisham Fahmy, executive director of AmCham Egypt. And what was done in that regard during this year's "Doorknock" was "remarkably well received," he said. Most of the delegates agreed that there was, to a great extent, a "negative atmosphere" in the town, and that an obviously "biased media" is shaping the political agenda and public opinion in favour of Israel. But for all that, the AmCham meetings and face- to-face discussions were necessary and timely.
Many also expressed the urgency and need to encourage and support the efforts of Arab- American organisations such as the Arab- American Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) and the Arab American Institute (AAI). As some of the delegates said in the assessment gatherings of the trip, "our point of view has to be heard and our 'distorted image' has to be confronted and corrected."
Economic matters were not, however, utterly forgotten. At several meetings, as expected, delegates suggested that a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the United States and Egypt, a running issue over the years, would boost the Egyptian economy and enhance the relationship between the two countries. The United States has already signed an FTA with Jordan and has recently opened talks for a similar agreement with Morocco. At a meeting with the AmCham Egypt delegation last Thursday, US Undersecretary of State for Economic, Business, and Agricultural Affairs Alan Larson told the delegates that an FTA with Egypt would be more complex to negotiate, reflecting the larger size of the country's economy. Larson also said that Egypt must complete certain institutional reforms before such a step could be considered.
During the visit, it was tentatively announced that US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick might visit Egypt next month. Department of Commerce Deputy Undersecretary Timothy Hauser acknowledged this at a reception for the delegation hosted by the Egyptian Embassy. Hauser also mentioned that the Egyptian-American Presidential Council, with its newly-selected board, would hold its first meeting in Washington next June. At the same reception, Ambassador Nabil Fahmy took the opportunity to emphasise once again the importance to both countries of maintaining a strong Egyptian-US relationship.
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