Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak accentuated the necessity of peace as an essential condition for sustainable development. There is a need for drafting policies that take into consideration the reality of the world as well as national necessities and international demands. These statements came during a lecture she delivered Friday at the War Museum in the Greece capital Athens, in which she hailed the historic ties connecting the Greek and Egyptian nations.

Countries that enjoyed relative peace in the Middle East at some point have achieved successes in development indicators, Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak said. On the other hand, countries which have witnessed lack of security and stability because of wars not only suffered recession in development but also lost tens of years worth of development efforts, she added.

She has also underlined the important role by youth in shaping their societies increasingly with the help of new ideas and modernizing traditional concepts.

This requires working on developing future leaders through exploring the potentials of today's youth, she added.

"My second point underscores the importance of a clearly articulated public policy that takes into account the global realities and national necessities," said Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak.

"For while peace is essential, it must be accompanied by a clearly defined framework that provides the direction required," she said.

"This allow all sectors of society to better contribute towards commonly defined goal and enjoy the benefits of an enabling environment. It also enhances the scene of fulfillment that they too have contributed to their country's growth," she said.

Mrs. Mubarak said "it is recapturing this spirit of tranquility that has made me focus my remark predominantly on three areas; First, the imperative of peace as necessary condition to sustain development. This applies to all countries.

"Investing in young people is a challenge for us all. It is the centre piece for modernizing our societies and an opportunity to reunite social and economic goals," Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak said.

"It will require coherence across policy fields that are inclusive and concrete as well as supportive institutions that enable young people to participate in a wider society," she said.

"By expanding opportunities and enhancing capabilities, youth will contribute to creating a better future, where tomorrow's voices for peace and unity are stronger than those of violence and self-centeredness," she said.

"Let me cite Egypt as an example. Egypt has enjoyed peace since 1983. This has enabled us to focus on our development strategy. And although the people of Egypt have born many burdens, have paid many prices, have met many hardships, nevertheless, they have used the best of their efforts to contribute to the dramatic transformation of society," she said.

"For the casual visitor, it is difficult to discern the total transformation undergone, we tend to forget how the country has evolved and the benefits accrued let alone how globalization has affected all of us," Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak said.

"Due to the changes that were introduced gradually and were accepted without any major dislocation - solutions have been tailored to our needs, within our own context and at our pace," she said.

"Today, we benefit from a liberalized economy, a more democratic society and in a relatively short period of time we have scored successes that have led to an overall improvement in the quality of life," she said.

"For us, development starts with people and is directed towards people. The process of growth is not only about commodities, markets and products... it is also about the fulfillment of human needs, addressing access to education, housing, credit, safe water and health services, and the progressive development of an infrastructure that greatly facilitates people's daily lives," she said.

"As you all agree, education is one of the most effective catalyst for development and a better life for oil. In Egypt we have awarded the highest priority to ensuring that every individual receives, not only the basic education to which they are entitled to but also full access to quality education throughout their life," said Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak.

"However, the notion of education is not only associated with formal, but also with informal settings," she said.

"An emphasis on reading and life-long learning, on the affordability and accessibility of books, and on the harnessing of new technologies is necessary to create a knowledge-based society," she said.

"To serve this purpose a national campaign entitled" Reading for All" was launched," she said.

"As articulated in the Tunis World Summit, ICT is a doorway to a more open and inclusive information society.

"In Egypt, we strive to ensure that no-one is left out of this process and that young people are enabled and empowered to fully capitalize on this life-enhancing, too," she said.

"Towards this goal, we are working hard to make up-to-date ICT infrastructure available and accessible in each and every governorate in the country," she said.

"At the same time, we have invested our efforts in providing training programmes in ICT for all.

"Giving a big boost to literacy and universal primary education enrolment rates, ICT significantly helped to highlight the needs of the most vulnerable groups of the society," she said.

"A wonderful example of this is the ICT induced development of lucrative, small, medium and micro enterprises," Mrs. Mubarak said.

"We have also intensified our efforts aimed at the social, economic and political empowerment of women. By reviewing existing laws affecting their welfare and well being, a supporting their election to public office and decision making position.

"The Suzanne Mubarak Women's International Peace Movement is hosting an International Youth Forum, entitled "You Speak, We Listen" next September in Sharm El-Sheikh".

"What will make this forum particularly special is that we intend to make sure that the youth themselves are actively involved in every aspect of the planning, organization and running of this event," she said.