Issue No. 613
Opinion
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21 - 27 November 2002 Issue No. 613 Opinion |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | |||
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State of the nation
President Mubarak's address to parliament outlined a future for Egypt to which we can all aspire, writes Ibrahim Nafie
In his speech before the joint houses of parliament President Mubarak outlined his vision for the future of Egypt. Mubarak depicted the Egypt of the future to which, I believe, we all aspire. "We are determined to make Egypt a modern nation, firmly grounded on an edifice of democracy, liberty and strong popular participation, lifting itself upwards through a free market economy in which the private sector assumes its responsibility side by side with the government within a framework that guarantees social justice, the needs of the limited income and the ability of all to benefit from the returns on development."
However, any workable plan for realising the desired level of prosperity is contingent upon an accurate assessment of all existing challenges and available opportunities. But, Mubarak reminded his audience, this is not the first time Egypt has tapped its resources of cool-headed thinking:
"I must stress that the difficulties we are currently experiencing are not new. Egypt has encountered far more formidable challenges before and that experience has helped us to redirect the course of our nation so as to enable it to achieve the progress it has made to date. At that time we decided to confront those challenges on the basis of a comprehensive vision that relied first and foremost upon an informed, clear sighted forecast of potential international developments so as to best avert the negative impact of such developments on our national endeavours."
In this context Mubarak expounded upon the connections between Egypt's domestic circumstances and its regional and international role. The more stable and secure our country and the greater the rates of acceptable growth and development, the more effectively can Egypt perform its regional and international role. As the president put it: "My vision also emanated from a deep belief in the vital connection between success in the course of development and ongoing progress in developing Egypt's foreign relations and strengthening its regional and international role."
Clearly, against the backdrop of a world in flux, the future of Egypt is contingent upon the achievement of a level of comprehensive domestic development that will, in turn, enhance Egypt's position as a major regional power. This is the perspective that shaped President Mubarak's agenda for the future, and in the realisation that the path towards such aspirations begins at home the president first focused on this domain.
He stressed the integral relationship between democracy and development. "There can be no doubt that the progress we have achieved in political and democratic reforms... has enhanced our ability to implement all phases of economic reform as they were backed by a popular support that increased in proportion to the expanding base of public participation."
Curiously, this outlook is still the subject of controversy. Some claim that there is no relationship between democratisation and economic development while others contend that the relationship is inverse. The president's approach, however, is clearly more realistic and pragmatic. Economic and social reform must take place in an open, democratic society in which the freedom of opinion and broad popular participation contribute to the processes of monitoring and guiding the course of reform. In view of the considerable progress Egypt has made in this domain it is incumbent upon us all to sustain and promote a successful formula.
The president proceeded to address a number of areas essential to sustaining well- rounded development. Of prime concern was the problem of population growth. By 2003 Egypt's population will have soared to 69.5 million, from 44 million in 1984. This rate of population growth, the president warned, "jeopardises all our efforts at development and threatens to deprive future generations of the prospect of a better life".
The president appealed to relevant government agencies to work together with parliament and civil society towards formulating a new national plan to overcome this problem. Such a plan, he stressed, should aim at encouraging Egyptian families to embrace the conviction that rapid population growth is detrimental to the national economy and the future of coming generations.
The president gave equally high priority to education. Again, with his sight trained on the demands of the future, he stressed three major areas for reform. He emphasised the need for school curricula and teacher training to be brought up to international standards and, simultaneously, to meet demands of the labour market. He felt that the public should play a more active role in school administration and activities. Finally, he said attention had to be given to modernising the learning environment and upgrading pedagogic equipment.
The president turned next to a new item on Egypt's agenda for the future. In his words: "The government must continue to counter the detrimental social effects of our economic reform efforts. It must maintain direct and indirect forms of subsidy to offset inflation, fight poverty and curb the rate of unemployment." As this social dimension of the agenda is critical in any plan aimed at securing the future of the country, Mubarak was precise in detailing the relevant policies. These included continuing to provide housing for those on limited incomes, expanding the umbrella of health insurance to cover the health and medical needs of all citizens, upgrading retirement pension and social insurance systems and schemes, and developing training and education schemes with an eye towards enhancing prospects of steadily increasing salaries.
The president's emphasis on alleviating the strains of economic transformation on lower income brackets reflects a social consciousness that has distinguished Egypt's developmental experience from that of many other countries. Egypt has always been keen to avert the economic shock tactics that lead to the disintegration of the family and social fabric, homelessness and poverty and other social ills.
It is precisely to forestall such phenomena that the president also urged increasing reliance on younger generations in the political, economic and social domains. Youthful talents should be given the opportunity early on to assume positions of responsibility and to allow Egypt to benefit from their skills and creativity.
In the domain of foreign policy, President Mubarak's agenda for the future reflects his cumulative experience and expertise since first coming to office, a fact he indicated in his speech: "In its resolution of 7 October 1981 nominating me as president this venerable assembly outlined several goals that it felt were necessary to the advancement of the nation. These included expanding the realm of democracy, reaffirming national unity, continuing support for the peace process and abiding by the international pledges and treaties to which we have committed ourselves out of faith in our values and religion." On the basis of this conviction, he continued, Egypt strove to expand its relations with the outside world and to support the efforts of international and regional organisations. Over the ensuing years Egypt regained its pioneering role in the Arab world through its proven commitment to the principles of international legitimacy, efforts to promote global and regional peace and continual advocacy of dialogue between the nations, cultures and religions of the world.
Reflecting on one of the by-products of Egypt's foreign policy successes, the president asked: "Would we have been able to improve our economic performance, increase our volume of trade, attract greater levels of investment while averting sudden shocks to our national economy and reduce our foreign debt without having built up strong and special relations based on mutual trust with major regional and international powers, indeed with the entire international community?"
With this legacy in mind, the president said, "we are now at a major crossroads where our available choices will determine the course of national action for the coming phase". Here the president was explicit in delineating foreign policy objectives which, he stressed, must take considerations of national security as their uppermost criteria. Thus, he said, priority must be given to promoting Arab political and economic unity and to supporting the pivotal role played by the Arab League in countering international pressures on the Arab world.
He further urged sustained commitment to the Middle East peace process, which he said held the key to the security and development of the region. In this regard, he was explicit in laying the fault for the floundering peace process with Israel which, he charged, lacked the necessary will "to enter into serious negotiations aimed at founding an independent, sovereign Palestinian state and to withdraw from all Syrian and Lebanese territories in accordance with the provisions of international legitimacy". He went on to stress that Egypt was determined to "work hand in hand with all peace-loving forces in Israel towards reaching a just and comprehensive peace that will open the door to stability and security as soon as possible".
The president firmly believes that the UN must continue its work in resolving various regional issues. In the case of Iraq he said the UN must apply its standards uniformly. If Baghdad must eliminate its weapons of mass destruction the same must apply to Israel. As for Sudan, the president maintained that any settlement must preserve the territorial unity of the country.
Addressing the impact of the international climate on regional issues, Mubarak affirmed Egypt's determination to resist all attempts to turn the global war on terrorism towards the realisation of narrow, self- serving political interests. The fight against terrorism, he said, should not be used as a pretext to overthrow governments by force or to impose alien values or customs on peoples with different traditions, histories and moral codes. Such efforts would "exacerbate the divisions in our world and augment the feelings of hatred and frustration that pose the gravest danger to the levels of harmony and communication that we have so far achieved between societies and peoples".
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