Issue No. 609
Opinion
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24 - 30 October 2002 Issue No. 609 Opinion |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Recommend this page | ||
October's legacy
Egypt recently commemorated the anniversary of its military victory in the October 1973 War. It also commemorated the anniversary of the death of the late President Anwar El-Sadat.
Following the war, El-Sadat immediately involved the US in bringing peace to the region. Due to the US-brokered peace treaty, El-Sadat was able to begin an economic reform programme. Although he did not live to see the results of this policy, his strategic partnership with the US continued.
The second half of the 1990s witnessed the start of the Egyptian-American partnership programme. The objective of this programme was to enhance the bilateral partnership in investment and trade, thus ending the simple donor- receiver relationship that previously existed. This was a vital development for Egypt's private sector. USAID's support for NGOs, business education and training, small and medium businesses, not to mention support for Egyptian export trade have had a pivotal effect on economic progress and private sector expansion.
In addition to the peace treaty of 1978, there was cooperation by Egypt and the Arabs with the US during the Gulf War, which led to the Madrid Peace Conference and the Oslo process.
All of this indicates that the solution to the recent differences between Egypt and the US is not to permit the continuing deterioration of relations, but rather, like Sadat's policy, it lies in an enhancement of this partnership.
This week's soapbox speaker is an Egyptian businessman and a member of the Federation of the Chambers of Commerce.
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