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Thursday, April 29, 1999
Brothers and Sisters , Our meeting every year embodies Egypt's recognition of the great role of its faithful workmen in bringing about its awakening and reviving the value of work. This is a value that God has placed ahead of all other values, considered almost equal to His worship, and made man's message in life to reconstruct the earth for the benefit and common weal of societies. On your day, our homeland entertains greater hopes for building a strong society capable of and keen on exploiting all its capacities for the good of all compatriots. You are the builders of the civilization and the batallions of reconstruction, the soldiers of welfare and the cultivators of peace. Wherever one goes, he will see, all over Egypt, your tremendous achievements as a living evidence to a great and sacrificing people. Had it not been for your efforts, this ongoing epic of construction in Egypt would have not started. In Toshka, Egypt's workmen are exerting concerted efforts to build a new delta that will change Egypt's geography expanding Egypt's populated area deep into the New Valley, adding a new civilization to that of the Nile Valley. Southwest of Aswan, a massive iron and steel industry is emerging where the recently discovered iron ores are exploited. In the farthest north, as-Salam Canal extends from west Delta up to Sinai hinterland, carrying water to more than half million new feddans and linking Sinai with the valley into one integrated whole that puts an end to Sinai's insularity. In east Port Said, the would-be greatest seaport in the Middle East region is being built. The port capitalizes on Egypt's unique location as a meeting point of world continents to boost its international trade status. To the south east of Suez, work is in full swing for building a massive industrial estate, with the collaboration of a number of giant Egyptian and joint-venture companies that seek to be closer to the international market. I would like to express my full appreciation for Egypt's workers who have made this achievement, building for their country, in the past and present, huge bastions of civilization and product. Over a complete century of their trade-union movement, they have continued to perform their constructive role as a force of stability and progress which stands strong before differences and dissentions, adopting an Egyptian patriotic approach that combines both their own interests and those of the homeland. The most distinguishing feature of the Egyptian trade-union movement, whose first jubilee we are celeberating, is that it has maintained its national unity, adhered to the values of our country, and did not let its leadership go to the powers that tried to use the labour movement for non-national purposes, and impose beliefs and thoughts alien to the community calling fanning embers of conflicts and dissension among all parties. The labour movement in Egypt has associated itself with the national movement, unified its aims with those of our homeland, rejected the ideology of class struggle and placed the issue of independence ahead of its class interests. In all important historical turning points Egypt has passed the labour movement sided with the public national mainstream. The Egyptian labour movement supported 23 July Revolution together with its new concepts for establishing social justice. It undertook the most enormous burden in protecting the revolution and realizing major socio-economic transformations led by the Revolution. On the shoulder of the movement, a giant industrial and economic base was established, new structures for a national economy, free of feudalism and exploitation, were built up. During the years of preparation for the battle of liberating land and national will, following June 1967 setback, Egypt's labour was once again on the forefront, and taking up the responsibility of constructing an air defense missile wall in addition to all defence fortifications necessary to confront the occupying enemy. They were highly supportive of our armed forces until the glorious victory was realized in those blessed days of October 1973. When the country embarked onto the stage of economic reform, the labour movement backed the giant transformation process that liberated the national economy; gave vent to individual initiatives and assigned the private sector an important role in the process of development. Egypt's workers were fully aware and responsible when they recognized that reform was an indispensible national duty and an inevitable choice for realizing the aspired revival. Egypt's workers have assumed the greatest role in rebuilding infrastructure; accepted the consequences and burdens of the structural reform. Thanks to their national awareness, they realized that reform would be ultimately in the interest of workers and the least able categories and that the ultimate goal was to expand the production base, invest all available resources and create more job opportunities. The backing by Egypt workers' of the economic reform programme besides their support for measures of expanding ownership base in a number of the public enterprise sector corporations, provide evidence to the maturity of the Egyptian labour movement and its concern with content and goal rather than slogans and form. This also proves their confidence in the national frame work of the Egyptian privatization programme as well as their understanding of its basic objectives of maintaining the productive activity of these corporations, which provide for expansion and revamping as primary conditions for divesture and impose strict controls that forbid any violation of workers' rights. Perhaps one of the most important features of the Egyptian privitization programme is that it reconciles the economic reform requirements with the need to take into account the social and humane dimension. Brothers and Sisters It has been our policy to take into account the rights of the least capable sectors of the society. Since the very beginning, we have aligned ourselves with the interests of the vast majority of our working people. This alignment is fundamental ground of the legitimacy and responsibility of governance. It embodies respect for the right of the Egyptian citizen to lead an honourable life in his homeland and commitment to the protection of the society's unity and solidarity. This further deepens the sense of solidarity among various groups of the community in favour of social peace and a safe national march guaranteeing the progress of society under a stable atmosphere where individual and group interests are interwoven. At last, the West has found out the perils resulting from the absence of the humane and social dimension involved in its capitalist progress. The West is now looking for a third way whereby market laws are to be adjusted within the framework of the state responsibility for the welfare of the least capable sections of the community and the economic necessities and social cirumstances are compromised. However, such responsibility has been quite obvious to us right from the very beginning. This has been a unique feature of the Egyptian economic reform programme characterized by most carefully calculated and gradual implementation and distribution of burdens to various sectors of the community. Being purely Egyptian in all phases, the programme took into account the circumstances of the society, and maintained the states role and responsibility for the welfare of the least capable sectors, in the interest of the cohesion and social peace of the homeland. We thank God we adopted the right path much farther than expected; the citizen has regained trust in the national economy. A new atmosphere prevailed the country, giving strong impeters to massive investments in all fields. Development efforts continued along a clear path guided by a comprehensive strategy involving successive 5-year plans in addition to a fourth 5-year plan that started 2 years ago, being a pivotal one completing twenty years of sustained development. Thus, Egypt can be ushered into the 21st century, more capable of confronting its challenges; keeping abreast of progress, maintaining its march forward in line with the criteria and standards of the coming century. The achievement was so massive that it drew the attention of the whole world: the volume of investments exceeded LE 500 bilion ($150 billion) spent over social economic development projects. It is a huge, unprecedented figure Physical witnesses to such expenditure can be seen on every spot of the country, embodied in thousands of gigantic, medium and small -size projects that have changed the shape of life in Egypt. The economic reform programme has yielded a number of important results that can be summarized as follows: I. The size of the economic sectors increased and expanded so that Egypt can now have a huge commodity and service production base, that can cater for the widespread projects over bigger areas of Egypt's territory without being restricted to the limited geographical vicinity of the Nile Valley and Delta. Thus, it has become possible to start any project on any spot of the country. II. Safe transition to market-overted economy has been effected the private sectors contribution to the development increased; its investments mounted from LE 1.3 billion in 1982 to LE 43 billion this year accounting for 65% of total investments. The private sectors share of the GDP reached almost 71%. III. Market-economy-based economic and regulatory institutions, have been completed and entrenched, being one of the props of building modern society, guarantee sound economic transformation and face the challenges that we meet on the threshold of the new century. The state pays great attention to the reinforcement of the state regulatory bodies, enhancing institutions involved in securing transparency and efficiency in the financial and economic business. In this connection, the state carried out legislative or structural reforms. IV: One of the most distinguishing features of the Egyptian experience was that social development had proceeded side by side with development and economic reform. Thus, it was a two-sided reform that both maintained the stability of the society and protected it from any disturbances or unrests. Over the past seventeen years, Egypt has invested a huge sum of money that reached LE 49 billion in social development including education, health, culture, information, justice and security. I need not elaborate on figures and statistical indicators, as you are aware of the volume of expenditure directed to fields of social development. However, I would like to point out that this huge volume of investments directed to social development projects asserts the continuity of the states responsibility for the welfare of the low-income and least priveleged categories. Besides, it asserts our truthful orientation that considers man as the target and focus of development. There is no doubt that the expansion of social insurance coverage to 17 million, with an increase of 7 million over that of 1982 and the extension of health insurance umbrella to 27 million -almost half of the population- including government, public enterprise sector and private sector workers and school students, is an important indicator of the humane nature of the Egyptian development experience, the philosophy that governs our vision of the national goals and our programmes to put them into effect. Brothers and Sisters For us, it is a top-priority concern to protect low-income categories and open up new means of livelihood by providing new job opportunities for Egypt's youth. The increasing capability of the Egyptian economy to achieve higher growth rates through sustained expansion in mega, medium and small projects will help us attain this major objective. Thanks to God and the unflinching spirit and mettle of our great people as well as the maturing and developing Egyptian economic structure over the past years, Egypt could maintain its ability to make a tangible progress in economic performance in spite of the crisis that ravished the economies of many developing countries. Our country managed to maintain sustained and increasing growth, expected to reach 6% this year and to increase, God Willing, to 6.8% next year. At a time growth rates in many developing countries have shrunk as a result of the international crisis. This increase in the Egyptian development rates has led to noticeable decrease in unemployment as a result of introducing 6.5 million new job opportunities over the three 5-year plans, expected to reach 7 million by early next year. This situation calls for satisfaction and confidence in the future as it asserts the capability of the Egyptian economy to increasingly grow, depending on its own resources and its efficiency to create new job opportunities in excess of half a million every year. Brothers and Sisters, As the Egyptian will has broken loose from the captivity and obstacles of the past, our thought should naturally proceed freely towards vistas of a new future that copes with the spirit of the time and the nature of the huge challenges facing us, as well as the growing Egyptian determination to draw a a clear map for the future that addresses Egypt's major problems through radical solutions and maintains the country's position in the procession of human progress. Until recently, it has been beyond Egypt's capacity to think of the remote or even the near future. Al1 efforts have been mobilized to face problems of the past, restrict- ed within the framework of reactions or intermittent or temporary solutions. Under such climate, Egypt was not able to think of entering into the mega projects era until its infrastructure facilities have been rebuilt the ability of its various institutions to implement major projects has been boosted and its share of major investments have ris- en after becoming a centre of attraction for international investments, and trust by major international finance in- stitutions. Egypt's access to mega project era was not a sort of luxury or welfare, nor was motivated by political consid- erations or search for ephemeral glory. But it was rather a necessity dictated by the need to launch a huge qualitative leap forward in the national economy. This was necessary for Egypt to face its basic problems with radical solutions. As the valley has become over-populated, cities and villages too congested, egress out of the narrow physical space of the valley and Delta has become inevitable to meet the ever-growing population increase, which could never be accommodated within 5% of Egypt's area. In the light of scientists and experts' opinions the only criterion for selecting such projects was to make comparative analyses of the proposed alternatives without any predilections to pre-determined concepts. The final say in this respect was the comprehensive objective study undertaken for all these alternatives, with the opinion adopted by the majority of scientists and specialists, given preponderance. Nothing impairs such projects if there is some disagreement of opinion on some of their aspects, as long as the state deals with every serious, socialized opinion, with due care, examination and scrutiny. This is simply the story without any complications. Calculating the economic rate of return for these great projects, feasibility studies prove that it will generate a large increase in GDP. Furthermore, these projects will help create new job opportunities at more than two hundred thousands every year. It also preserves Egypt's national wealth consisting in the old valley's lands, that are currently eroding under the pressures of urban expansion. As you are aware, l have been monitoring, almost on a day-to-day basis, the progress of work in those mega pro- jects. The Egyptian General Federation of Trade Unions and other syndicates are highly interested in visiting the sites of work there, because we are all confident that these projects will create a new urban and reconstruction map based on vital pivotal centres capable of expanding and spreading around the project nucleus to create new urban communities over larger areas of Egypt's land. In Toshka, East Port Said, Southwest Gulf of Suez and North Sinai, where work is going on in these projects, Egypt's workmen are constructing new edifices of livelihood, redoubling the volume of construction, and changing Egypt's geography. These projects will upgrade the quality of life of Egypt's sons in a heroic effort that complements those of former generations that had constructed the High Dam, dug the Suez Canal and had set up, since the dawn of history, lofty edifices of civilization that are still existent, as a living evidence to the greatness of the Egyptians. l should pay tribute to the enthusiasm of Egypt's workmen who undertake the execution of these mega projects light from the start; they have recognized that they are actually a test of their will of challenge and determination to achieve a national goal to which all the Egyptians' interests are attached both at present and in future. Ladies and Gentlemen, In spite of the great achievements previously mentioned, and the major economic transition undertaken by Egypt and lauded by all world financial and economic circles, yet we should not be over optimistic about the future except on objective and sound grounds. To achieve our ambitious aspirations and objectives for this nation, we should be fully aware that the coming century imposes new and complicated challenges, which we have no other option but to face and interact with. Outlines of challenges we will have to face can be summed in the following: First: Emphasis on improving human development as a basic element of the economy's competetiveness on world marketplace. Developing human resources begins with the promotion of workers capability to deal with modern technologies and its mechanisms. This includes the ability to absorb all new materials, techniques and mechanisms of producing commodities and providing services and how to use information in this age which witnesses a huge technological revolution based on knowledge so that the worker should never lag behind, but rather be always capable of developing himself and enriching his potentialities. It is self-evident that to acquire these new skills is the only way to achieve a big leap in workers income in addition to a high rise in value-added rates far beyond conventional concepts. This is the shortest way to raise individual and group income and to proceed from a developing society towards an advanced one that occupies an appropriate position in the international community. I will unrelentlessly reiterate that we should direct increasing interest to develop our human resources in all fields. This is now the most important factor in achieving progress, building the nations wealth and boosting their competitiveness and viability on the world market. Future industries and products will as well depend, to a great extent, on the ability of the working category to apply scientific achievements and utilize the innovations of research and development. These facts which have become a part of our contemporary reality, requires trade-union organizations and the Federation of Trade-Unions to cooperate with concerned state institutions in education, scientific research and human development sectors and the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics as well as bussinessmen to achieve two objectives: First: Identify the community needs for special skills required for workers, technicians, experts and researchers employed by high-technology-based projects. Second: Develop and carry out continuing programmes for training and rehabilitating workers according to the modern approved criteria in order to enable the worker to deal perfectly and efficiently with the ultramodern paraphernalia. Ministry of Manpower and Training has set up an integrated vision of a national policy for vocational training. This policy provides for establishing a training complex in every investment area as well as vocational training centres in the new economic and social development areas. I would like to refer in this context to the importance of strengthening bonds of cooperation with the outside advanced world in the field of human development especially in the fields of hi-tech and information technology. Success stories from many Southeast Asian countries confirm the importance of the human factor in developing the society as well as the importance of transferring technology, encouraging the establishment of specialized institutes and information technology laboratories with the participation of the advanced world in this field. Therefore,I do ask the private sector to perform an effective role in this respect by investing part of their profits in building such institutions in cooperation with world companies operating in these fields. I also ask the government to continue to support scientific research centres, provided they develop their performance in such a way that their researches and studies will cope with the market requirements and investment movement. Second: Remedy disequilibrium in balance of trade by increasing exports and rationalizing imports. The Egyptian exports issue is so grave that it should draw the attention of all those who shoulder a part of the burden and responsibility of production in Egypt, in addition to all institutions working for the safety of the Egyptian economy. I believe that the right starting point is to draw up a clear-cut policy to expand the base and improve the quality of the Egyptian exports and ensure that their prices will not be susceptible to major fluctuations associated with the prices of a few goods such as petroleum. We should also expand such base so as to comprise goods and services of high value-added where Egypt enjoys competitive advantages. This year, value of oil exports are expected to decrease by 32% from 1997-98 level as a result of the dramatic reduction of world oil prices. With the expected increase in non-oil exports, this year, total exports will stand at the same level of last year. Next year, non-oil exports are expected to rise by about 20% due to the implementation of COMESA treaty with some African countries as well as the free exchange agreements concluded by Egypt with Arab countries. Agreements concluded by Egypt with Arab countries. However, these figures do not rise up to the expectations pinned on national performance in this field particularly in view of the great facilities and several machineries made available for the private sector to produce high-quality goods and services highly competitive in foreign markets. Similarly, the public enterprise sector companies were given the same chance to engage into exportation and competition. Probably, the Federation of Trade Union and its organ- izations can contribute to this national task by motivating workers to master and achieve high-quality export- oriented products as well as goods for which Egypt has relative advantages. We should also exert the best efforts to limit imports by producing goods of no less quality than the imported ones. In addition, we must deepen the sense of pride for our national products in the conscience of every citizen. We should ultimately reach higher degree of equilibrium between volumes of exports and imports. It is my estimation that this will be a realistic and workable goal if concerted efforts are exerted by all con- cerned bodies, official and non-official and their policies and actions are coordinated. We have no alternative but to work as hard as we can to achieve this major national goal which has commanded the best of our interest since the inception of economic reform process. Third: Competitiveness on the world market over the coming century largely relies on making use of our available energies and potentials to break into the high-tech-based industries including information technology or technological industries in general. Studies assert that Egypt has a major competitive edge in some of these fields constituting an element of attraction for foreign companies to share us in developing these industries. Undoubtedly, Egypt access to this field will open up new horizons for Egyptian economy either through developing new cadres armed with modern technology or offering new types of job opportunities coping with the requirements of our age. The studies also show that Egypt is well poised to break into foreign markets in some of these industries especially in computer software. This would positively effect balance of trade and Egyptian exports. Therefore, a ministerial committee was formed to draw up policies and bases enabling the state to encourage this orientation. I have asked this ministrial committee to set up an executive team and a full-time executive officer to develop criteria and policies to stimulate private sector investments in this field. I will continuously follow up the range of progress in this direction in order to achieve a major leap forward in the society and the national economy with the advent of the coming century. Fourth: The continuing influx of the private sector investments into the Egyptian economy is regarded as a major challenge to guarantee economic growth and provide new job opportunities. The state has made it incumbent upon itself to remove all roadblocks to investors and even prompting them to link new investment with export policies for the outside world. Although we have already accomplished higher investment to GDP rates that hit about 22%, we still have a major challenge ahead of us to bring such rate to above 25%. Hence, to achieve a growth rate for the Egyptian economy in the vicinity of 7% to 8% and provide more than 500,000 job opportunities every year. In the context of encouraging investment, enhancing small and medium industries is a mainstay of the state policy. The contribution of such industries in supporting economic growth and creating new job opportunities is no less important than the mega projects and major industrial investments. Therefore, I do call upon the government to continue to support those project owners and remove obstacles hindering their progress either through the Social Fund for Development or any other proper means. Similarly, in order to achieve higher investment rates for Egypt's economy, it is required that national savings rate should be tangibly increased beyond the present rate which is about 18% of GDP. Here also, the state pays due attention to the promotion of national savings by reforming and upgrading saving channels such as insurance sector. Fifth: The state will continue to adopt rational financial policies in order to at least maintain the state budget deficit ratio at its current level of 1% of GDP, while increasing expenditure on social services especially to low-income categories. In this regard, I would like to pay tribute to the governments success in curbing deficit, that has stood at its present level over the past years, in spite of the fact that no new taxes or duties have been levied over the past four years. To face this challenge, it will be incumbent on us through the coming years to continue to rationalize the government expenditure, in addition to expanding tax-payer base. This may require a tax reform which I shall call upon the government to consider it in time. Sixth: Our ability to face all the previously mentioned challenges depends to a great extent on the success of the whole society in limiting population growth rate every year. I have previously reiterated the importance of facing this challenge that overshadows both the achievements of the past and the objectives and challenges of the future. The Egyptian society with all its categories has succeeded in curbing the population growth rate over the past 20 years from almost 3% to about 2%. The challenge ahead of us now is to bring this rate to maximum 1.5% per year. The state intends to continue its role of disseminating educational and cultural awareness of the Egyptian family planning. Yet, for such objective to be accomplished, all sectors of the community are required to shoulder their equal share of responsibility. Dear Brothers and Sisters The principles of our foreign policy, and its place on the map of national goals are determined along a number of clear-cut standerds. First of all, this policy aims at realizing our national interest, not within the narrow sense of the work, but rather within a comprehensive vision of a world overwhelmed by peace and reconciliation. It is a world, where welfare is made common to all peoples in various regions through reciprocal interests and benefits. It is a world where physical and scientific potentialities available to man are being explorated to achieve a better living for the human race. It is now self-evident that the human society now faces one and the same destiny, regardless of the degree of advancement attained in the different continents of the world. Therefore, the challange facing man everywhere is summed up in whether to be or not to be. Within this framework, our vision is determined for our national goals and interests as well as the international groupings to which we are attached with special relationships of a constant strategic nature. Therefore, cooperation with these groupings in the political, financial and cultural fields is a top priority of our foreign policy. Throughout the past decades, it has been established in our conscience and movement that these circles cover all the Arab countries without exception, the sisterly African and Asian countries, and all the developing countries elsewhere in the world. Lately, we have accomplished a step that, we hope, will have a tangible effect in further enhancing Arab economic cooperation, namely the signing of a free trade zone agreement, to be implemented on gradual, successive steps over ten years; thus paving the way to an Arab common market at a later stage. On the African level, Egypt is taking many steps for fostering brotherly relations with all sisterly countries with which we maintain strategic interests of high importance and complete identity of goals and principles. Moving to the Asian continent, we will find several factors that attract and attach us to, thus making it inevitable for us to deepen relations with its countries. On top of these factors, there are the close cultural similarity, and real vested interests in various spheres. There are also the available chances for us to make use of the progress they have achieved in several fields over recent decades regardless of any remote geographical distance seperating us. This is because the modern means of communication have narrowed distance and removed, to a great extent, many barriers among continents and countries. It was within this framework that I paid visits during the first half of April to China, South Korea and Japan. These visits have yielded important results which will be beneficial to both parties especially in the following fields: First: Joint action to accomplish a greater level of equality and balance in the new world order. Agreement on a uniform policy for dealing with certain phenomena generated by such order, including the formulation of new concepts of state sovereignity, non-intereference in their internal affairs, and the principle of equality among nations. Second: Give more attention to problems facing developing countries in the different continents of the world and deepening the feeling of solidarity and vested interests. For example, the Asian countries are showing an increasing interest in the Middle East peace process just as we care about establishing peace and stability in particularly sensitive Asian region. Third: Adopt a clear strategy to guarantee justice and equal opportunities in the world economic order, by means of a comprehensive and objective dialogue between the advanced countries of the North and the developing countries of the South. Fourth: Expand and deepen cooperation and exchange of experiences among developing countries in technological transformation in the various fields of industry, agriculture and services. Increase exports rates and access foreign markets; in addition to rehabilitating and training workers, raising their level of productivity, establishing joint-venture projects and increasing direct investment, so as to help developing countries raise the average per capita income, especially working categories. If we want to evaluate briefly the outcome of this visit to those three countries of the Far East, which came as an application of a constant policy guideline, rather than a shift in our visions and orientations, we can say that it brought about many advantages and new opportunities that we should not waste away, in order to deepen cooperation with them and their neighbouring countries. It remains now to briefly review two important events that recently occured on the Arab arena: First: Gains recently realized by the Palestinian Leadership for the cause of its brotherly people; particularly in the way of affairming the right of this people to self-determination and establishing its independent state on its own territory just as all other nations and peoples. Thus, it was natural and logical for prestigeous international powers to take the initiative of declaring its unreserved support and recognition of such right. It should be admitted by all that only the Palestinian people has the right to set the date and framework in which this step will be carried out according to the Palestinian interests. Second: The detente that the Libyan issue has witnessed after the brave decision taken by the brotherly Libyan people concerning the Lockerbie case which gained full Arab support and a comprehensive international appreciation. Thus, we look forward to a full lifting of sanctions imposed on the Libyan Republic; thus enabling it to regain its role on the various international forums. Brothers and Sisters The world is progressing at an accelerated pace, opening up everyday new vistas of human progress. It is our national duty to redouble our effort so that we will not further lag behind those who preceeded us in achieving progress. This is essential especially in view of the fact that we are approaching a more agglomerated, interlaced and complicated world where the big and mighty monopolize sources of power seek to control world markets and the international competition rages through the struggle for interests and influence. There is no place for those who depend on others input, those who are ditracted by minor disputes from the supreme national objectives or those who are so crippled by their own sense of dependence that they are unable to see the right path. By all standards, we are fully qualified to be at the forefront of emerging nations that can catch up with the contemporary industrial and technological progress. We do possess a unique outstanding location on the crossroads world continents. This critical and important location is not commensurate with Egypt's modest share of the volume of world trade. We have a great people whose vocation -throughout centuries- was to make civilization, create art and crafts. We have a rich experience, involving several useful lessons that guides us through the right path, without having to repeat the faults of the past or continue to be capitvate to its concepts and slogans. We have a strong present that reinstituted the Egyptian patriotism, unleashed the society's powers and its individuals initiatives within a sound democratic climate that welcomes the freedom of opinion and expression, governed by the rule of law and clear-cut stable policies whose main objective is the public national interest, free of personal whims and pressure of interest groups. Responsibility is no longer restricted to the state alone, but it extends to all, the government and people, the ruler and the ruled, the worker and the employer, the investor, big and small, the landlords and the leaseholders alike. It is now our responsibility as citizens, having freed our will from fear and shackles that have long obstructed our steps, we became more self-confident. Our homeland has now become a pure property of all its compatriats, who to formulate its future within a free democratic framework that strikes a balance among the interests of every category. We have made a pledge to exert every possible effort so that Egypt will be positioned where it deserves among the ranks of emerging countries. Rough was the road, difficult were the beginnings, humble were the resources and seemingly impossible was the mission, had it not been for success granted by God and the backing of people. We had to start from the zero point after the successive wars that had depleted the capabilities of the homeland, devastated its infrastructure, exhausted its utilities and completely crappled our national economy. Consequently, it was no longer capable of meeting its own burdens. We had to review our march and search for the reasons of deficiency internally. We had to make sure that we would not burst from inside, to be torn out by differences nor lose our way amidst the mist of battles of the past that obstructed the road to the future. We had to shoulder, courageously the burden of finding radical solutions of our problems, so as to establish the right foundation for purely Egyptian awakening, rising up year after year within an integrated plan on the threshold of a new century and new millennium. We are more qualified than others, as we have made good progress to realize this goal. Now we need only to improve on the management of the national effort so as to invest, to the maximum level possible, our available resources and be committed to thorough performance, precision, sustained quality and to bring the talented, knowledgable experts to the foremost rank in society. When one contemplates the starting point, one says nothing but thank God as He decided with truth between us and our folk and kept us away from arrogance, stumbling blocks and endowed us with the blessing to consult with people of experience and enriched us with the trust of people and homeland, removed bias and malevolence from our hearts and opened our insight into justice to support the oppressed and triumph for fairness, be partial to the majority of working people and first and last adhere to the homeland interests without embarrassement of our accuser. And say (unto them): Act! Allah will behold your actions, and (so will) His messenger and the believers. These are indisputable verses that elevate honest workers, urge every believer to master his work, as God is witness to him. These verses make work to be principle manadorys duty and a Devine order to be carried out for the sake of homeland welfare and prosperity. I pray to God Almighty to support our steps to the right path. He is the Best Custodian and Supporter. May Allah's peace and mercy be upon you Thank you very much |
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