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Saturday, November 13, 1999
Dear Brothers and Sisters,Like all of us, I was severely aggrieved by the tragedy of the Egyptian aircraft that crashed into the ocean facing American coast. While investigations are still underway to unravel the cause of the plane crash in such abrupt way, I do feel deep sorrow and grief for the plane victims including crew and passengers, Egyptians and foreigners alike. From here, I send my heart-felt condolences to the families and relatives of victims and invite you to stand for one minute in mourning for the victims and martyrs of this incident. Brothers and Sisters, Members of People's Assembly and Shura Council, Our meeting today on the inauguration of the new parliamentary session of your august Assembly comes as an auspicious event initiating a new period, that, I pray Allah Almighty, will bring about welfare to all categories of the Egyptian people and more stability, prosperity and progress for Egypt. This meeting also coincides with the assumption of a new cabinet charged with specified assignments to bring about a qualitative shift to enhance the performance of national economy, leading to a tangible improvement in the life of all Egyptians. This will involve, in the meantime strict commitment to maintain social justice, open the door for Egypt s rising youth to provide additional input in making their country's future. I look forward to the coming period as one of steadily rising building and plentiful harvest, where Egypt will be more powerful, flourishing with more welfare, justice, stability and security, enjoying a democratic atmosphere that is being increasingly entrenched in our day-to-day life, and reaping the fruit of its efforts in a more shining life. This stability is protected and strengthened by our valiant armed forces that defend our land and honour, deter aggression and oppression and never hesitate to sacrifice for the sake of the rights of Allah and the homeland. Stability and security is maintained by the Egyptian police forces, with their efficient and alert performance, dedication to duty, heedful observance of the principles and provision of law and avoidance of any infringement of established controls and applicable rules. Against this congenial background, I anticipate that the people will reap the fruit of their exertion in the form of a tangible increase in family and individual income, more enhanced and plentiful services, ensuring adequate health care, better education and more diversified job opportunities. I hope the new cabinet will be more effective in performance, and more capable to attain the aspired goals. I expect your esteemed Assembly, in its current session, to pursue its important role of assisting the government in implementing its programme and undertaking its duties, through serious and objective discussion of this programme and its approved time frame or drafting such laws that make the aspired goals into binding obligations. This is the concluding session that complements the legal term of your esteemed Assembly, reflecting the state of prevailing stability in Egyptian parliamentary life, our keen interest in entrenching the rule of law, deepening the concept of institutionalized state as well as our respect for the role of the legislative institution and our interest in implanting its immunity into the conscience of the Egyptian people. On this occasion, I feel fully confident that you will pursue your mission through this session with due zeal, exercising objective and true cooperation with the government. By so doing, you will be fulfilling the honour of responsibility that you undertake on behalf of the people, ensuring impartial and objective performance, with due respect to national interests and commitment to the people's legitimate rights and aspirations. The control by the Assembly over the performance of the government is the prime guarantee to good performance; a hedge that ensures that errors are redressed and problems are addressed before they could aggravate. As you are aware, rational control requires mutual coordination, cooperation and understanding between the Assembly and the government. As both institutions have one common goal, namely to realize public national interest, it is essential that both sides should have consistent visions of the right priorities of national work, together with due commitment to integrity, transparency and good reasoning. Thus, control can be an effective tool for bridging gaps and rectifying errors and deficiencies. I expect this current session of your esteemed Assembly to witness a national dialogue involving independent and diverse opinions and free discussions, in search for the most consummate and practicable solutions. I also expect Assembly Men to exert their utmost in seriously and objectively examining all dimensions of problems discussed, taking into account all surrounding circumstances and available resources. We should avoid indulgence in fantasies or well-wishing, nor should we ignore existing potentials and necessities of real life. Moreover, we should not be drifted away into futile auctioneering, actuated by personal or factional motives, far beyond national public interest. Brothers and Sisters, Members of The People's Assembly, During its former session, your august Assembly has reaped a plentiful harvest that reflects rich and fertile democratic practice as well as the importance of serious parliamentary performance in the way of forging the objectives of the national march and setting an appropriate legal framework insuring the maintenance of proper progress and orientations of such march. As regards either its legislative or control role, your august Assembly should be given the credit for coping up with local and international changes. These had necessitated a review of the national economic track through a gradual and smooth but huge transformation process, taking into consideration market laws and opening new horizons for national and foreign private investments to contribute to development efforts. The scope of state responsibility was expanded for creating a favourable atmosphere for unleashing individual potentials and attracting more investments in the interest of the Egyptian development, along with strengthening its role in controling the balance of interest between different categories of the community to preserve social peace and to protect the interest of the least able categories. I am confident that cooperation among the state institutions, especially between the government and the People's Assembly will be furthered to achieve a no less serious and important objective, namely to firmly entrench an institutionalized state whereby the structure of a modern state will be consumed. This matter ,to us, is regarded as a national necessity. An institutionalized state guarantees the continuity of the national march, based on clear-cut systems,stable policies, firmly established traditions and transparent laws. In institutionalized state, governed by constant and stable systems and objectives, the spirit of team work prevails and joint responsibility becomes a deep-rooted concept. Under these circumstances, it becomes difficult for any group or individual, irrespective of their stature, to effect any radical changes in the national objectives, motivated by subjective visions or factional interests, bearing in mind that an institutionalized state derives its referential authority from institutional commitment rather than individual volitions. Since I was honoured by the people to bear the responsibility, I have sought to achieve this objective and I shall continue to pursue the same track until the concept of the institutionalized state has been firmly set both in theory and practice as well as a constant and stable tradition and a reality for the coming generations to attend to. Brothers and Sisters,Today, we start a new stage of national action whose objectives are determined by a comprehensive programme and whose broadlines have been read out to your august Assembly, the day I took the institutional oath following the declaration of the referendum results. In the letter of assignment addressed to Prime Minister Atif Ebeid, I requested the government to set detailed programmes for this comprehensive programme according to the priorities agreed upon for the coming stage. The government was further asked to draw up executive work programmes to achieve such objectives within a definite time frame and to cooperate with your august Assembly in conducting profound and detailed discussions of such programmes. Legislations necessary for implementation should be studied and the results of implementation monitored on a step-by-step basis. This would ensure good performance and people's control over the government's performance and provide the aspired integration between the executive and legislative authority. As you note, I have set as a top priority in our programme the necessity to maintain high and increasing rates of development and ensure access by all categories of the community to fruits of development. To this end, we are committed to the following basic and commanding principles: First: Maintain success achieved by the economic reform process and continue to pursue the reform process with the object of attaining a huge tangible leap in export by upgrading industry, services institutions and enhancing agricultural exports. Second: Maintain the social dimension in each and every step and decision. This will ensure that Egyptian development will remain as it used to be and must be, an elevated humane experience that targets man as end in itself. In this experience man inputs his mind, efforts and money in return for fair reward. Due consideration should be given the interests of workers, especially low-income categories as we view development as an integrated process where the economic dimension is interrelated with social and political dimensions. Third: Seek to promote democracy by expanding the right of participation and look for the best ways to guarantee correct representation of all segments of society. Brothers and Sisters, The most dangerous challenges, facing us at this current stage, may be those resulting from the highly effective ongoing developments, at present on the world arena. Global economy is now associated with new concepts of international cooperation indicative of a radical change in international economic relations, based on the integration of the world into one whole entity, where no barriers exist and commodities, services and capital flow unobstructed. More important, however, is that we face a new world governed by major entities and blocs, huge regional and international economic and financial institutions which have their own new rules and mechanisms of dealing. In return, these institutions need strong national institutions that likewise have their own rules and clear techniques that enable them to deal and compete on a pari-passu-basis with these corporations in response to common and national interests. No less dangerous than this challenge is the increasing dependence in developed countries on modern science applications for introducing new products in fields of communication, information, new materials, producing food stuff, pharmaceuticals and medical requirements based on the results of scientific research and a plethora of new inventions which are being put into commercial use year after year. These challenges impose on us two important assignments: First: To urgently eliminate weaknesses in our productive corporations and conduct a wide and all-out inventory of Egyptian products which can be highly competitive on international markets. We should also adopt a practical programme to modernize and rejuvenate Egyptian industry, upgrade its products to competitive levels and encourage research and innovation efforts in such important areas that can be developed without having to incur huge expenditure, but will allow us to boost our presence on the international market. Second: Seek to increase our exports to international markets. Export has now become a matter of life and death since sustaining development efforts is contingent on increasing our ability to export to foreign markets. Moreover, in countries with rising growth rates, the local market can not absorb the total volume of national production. Failing success in exportation, development horizons will be diminishing, job opportunities will be dwindling and hopes to seriously improve the individuals standard of living will fade away. This is the most dangerous challenge facing Egypt. We have talked much about obstacles and barriers hindering the encouragement of export. I do still call upon the Assembly and the government to remove all remaining obstacles within one year from now. We have no more time to waste in futile discussion concerning these obstacles. I call upon your august Assembly to finalize within the course of its current session, all legislations related to the removal of obstacles to exports. Concommitantly, the government is expected to more intensively search for new techniques to increase the volume of our exports to foreign markets. Export is such an objective that requires much more than just increasing and upgrading quality of production, but it has its own scientific techniques and mechanisms commonly known to experts and international trade institutions. Of these comes good marketing conducted by national corporations that protect national production against illegal competition in world markets and recommend necessary improvements to exports and its prices to stand in the face of fierce competition. As we talk about opening wider prospects for exporting Egyptian production and removing obstacles that hinder exporters, our aspired aim will never be realized without raising the efficiency of Egyptian air and sea ports as they represent the arteries of the economy to foreign markets. Thus, I have asked the government to draw up a well-defined programme to raise the efficiency and upgrade management of Egyptian ports in order to achieve a tangible leap in the quality and cost of the services offered. Brothers and Sisters, In my address in September, I asked that our coming national project should be to establish a technological base that allows modern science applications to be widely used in services and production sectors, advanced sciences to be entrenched and Egypt to be a producer of these applications in fields of interest and vital significance to our future. I emphasized the importance of necessary studies to mobilize and coordinate efforts for this project to be implemented as a mainstey to further boost the ability of national industry to grow, compete and maintain its presence with due weight on export markets. In addition, I have spotted out in this project wider prospects for new highly-paid employment opportunities for youth especially in the fields of information, communication and services. To achieve the aim of technological development and deepen related public awareness, the government is required to carry out the necessary tasks of completing infrastructure, to start with, establishing and activating training institutions, developing educational curricula, reviewing necessary legislations to protect innovations, providing incentives to attract private investments and supporting institutions that finance these advanced technological industries. To prove its commitment to technological development the government is required to expedite the constitution of the National Committee of Technological Development that will report to the President.. Its duty will be to supervise the formulation of this national project, eliminate whatever obstacles, it may face, coordinate the roles of the government, the private sector and development and researches institutions. To guarantee the effectiveness of this committee, it is required as one of its duties, to determine the objectives to be implemented on an annual and five-year basis, pinpoint policies and strategies to be applied so as to guarantee the efficient implementation and then monitor and evaluate results. Essentially, this committee should comprise ministers concerned, prominent representatives of industries that have started operation and acquired experience, in addition to those of educational and research institutions related to fields identified. I demand that this committee should be formed within the few coming weeks. I will call the proposed committee to meet soon so as for me to review personally its proposed programme of action as well as resources and powers required to guarantee its efficiency. Brothers and Sisters,It still remains as one of the most significant challenges that faces the new government to tune up national economic indicators in such a way as to re-affirm our constant ability to sustain the positive results achieved by the economic reform process. We have managed to attain the goals of reform after a long journey that lasted for about 18 years involving strenuous negotiations with the most powerful financial institutions in the world. During this span of time, the Egyptian people have endured unavoidable burdens in order to protect our country against imperative risks to which numerous other countries were exposed following the deterioration of their national economic conditions up to the verge of bankruptcy. We should not let slip off our hand the success already achieved in controling public expenditure and budget deficit and managing and reducing inflation to secure and internationally acceptable rates. The government should continue to protect public budget deficit against pressures causing further rises and to maintain balance between revenues and expenditures, being the key to macroeconomic balance. I have requested the government to ensure that annual expenses are rationalized and limits should not be exceeded except in as much as allowed by increase in revenues. I have also requested that plans for increasing revenues should not add any burdens to low-income categories. The government should rather direct its efforts for increasing revenues to the collection of tax arrears and outstanding custom duties and bridging such loopholes that can be manipulated by those who evade payment of state dues. We have succeeded to set right the economic variables governing our national economy, making them respond and interact, freely and flexibly, with the national economy. It is essential to maintain these tools with their full efficiency and flexibility as instruments to help us face potential changes in local and international economic structures. The strength of our economy lies in its flexibility. We have laid down such institutional framework that guarantees this flexibility. Hence, it will be necessary to upgrade and streamline this framework. Necessary competencies and talents should be introduced to make it more effective and efficient. This will enable us to remain in possession of such powerful tools that allow us to efficiently steer the national economy. Brothers and Sisters, As our duty is to create a favourable appropriate atmosphere for the private sector and provide incentives encouraging it to increase its investments in national economy, we should take into consideration, full keenness on our part to ensure access to the fruits of development by all categories of the people including workers, who make up the battalions of development. No worker should be obligated to leave his work, deprived of his income, nor left without protection. Access should be given also to low-income categories that should be offered necessary level of care; students who can not afford tuition fees; youth who cannot find appropriate housing or employment and poor families that need health care for children and the elderly as well as full care for mothers. To realize these principles, I ask the government to continue implementing our comprehensive social reform programme that provides care for the least able categories and offer various mechanisms for improving the income of these categories especially youth, through soft loans for small projects or training in certain productivre activities. I also ask the government to exert all efforts to address the problem of squatter areas with new plans and ideas, to eliminate this phenomenon and offer proper alternatives; turning the existing ones into planned areas with necessary services. I asked the government to prepare for a national conference on social development so as to draw up an integrated vision of the dimensions of the social question. The government should participate in the deliberations of the conference side by side with experts, specialists and members of the concerned non-governmental organizations. I also gave my instructions to put forth before the participants all studies and researches which will help them survey social conditions in Egypt. I will ask the conference, to be held soon, to discuss the broadlines of the government's programme and present well-defined and practicable recommendations. I ask your esteemed Assembly to support this significant effort and offer full assistance to the government by studying the proposed social reform programme, and approving legislations necessary to address these problems. It may be required to amend some laws such as those of health and social insurance and the Law on the New Urban Communities. Included will be some other draft laws, which, as far as I know, will be considered, such as a draft law establishing a new mechanism for settling disputes between citizens and administrative bodies. This will be a good idea that will save citizens a lot of troubles, help maintain stable legal environment and enhance progress towards instant justice, a matter of great concern to millions of citizens at a time when the number of disputes is accelerating at a high pace. Reference should be made here to the draft Unified Labour Law which in principle will yield great benefits. However, further auditing and review of some detailed and secondary issues is required on your part so as to ensure that, when issued, the legislation will be in compliance with the proper legal principles as well as the public interest of the society. You may recall as well that I have set, as a leading priority for our new term in office, the issue of the youth participation in making the future of their country. I also asked the government to offer more comprehensive care for this vital force that makes up more than one half of Egypt's population where 50% are still within age of education (18 million) and the remaining 50% within age of employment. The creation of a specialized ministry for youth affairs was actuated by our interest in the future of these promising generations for whom all resources should be made available to enable them to be more in touch with this modern era,where technological achievements depend on the nation's think-tanks, creative and innovative minds. There is no doubt that the proper starting-point to guarantee knowledge, efficiency and expertise for these promising generations, is to continue to modernize and develop Egyptian education so as to cover such curricula that help students acquire the useful knowledge that render them good citizens, fully aware of their public responsibilities and allow them to acquire skills qualifying for real job opportunities needed for the Egyptian labour market. I do ask the government to accelerate the revision of educational curricula and exert additional effort in preparing the teachers capable of delivering modern education. Furthermore, our educational institutions should dedicate part of their efforts to offering high-quality education for talented and high-flying students so as to develop their special capabilities thus qualifying them to be in the future a part of Egypt s scientists, experts and innovative scholars; thus laying a firm foundation for sustainable progress. I also ask for rapid implementation of a national programme to adapt young graduates to the real needs of labour market through training centres established by various ministries in all the governorates of Egypt. While the state will contribute the greater portion of training costs, bussiness institutions are required to contribute such share as may be commensurated with their capacity. I have also called upon the new government to break with full force into the problem of youth housing although we have achieved some progress in that field, still I demand a comprehensive programme where the state cooperates with banks, NGOs and well off individuals so as to cater for the pressing needs of youth. The state will undertake the responsibility of offering lands suitable for development, together with utilities. Besides, the government will help upgrade financing institutions that offer soft housing loans to youth and introduce specialized institutions for this purpose. Your esteemed Assembly will be required to draft legislations to encourage the creation of such institutions and set guarantees for them to recover their funds on long-term instalments for the benefit of youth. Brothers and Sisters, It has been my constant belief that democracy grows on free opinion, broad participation, and proper representation. Along this road, Egypt has made significant strides that can never be denied except by an arrogant, ungrateful person. Since the early beginnings, political and economic reform processes have gone hand in hand in serious strides. Freedom of opinion and press were made available in an unprecedented manner, doors were opened to new forms of press ownership which was no longer confined to national and party press. For the first time in forty years, an independent Egyptian press has emerged.Inspite of several negative practices, I have maintained my clear attitude that the press must be capable of rectifying by itself its negative aspects and that the press should not be subjected to any sway other than the law. I need not reassure you of my full trust in the opposition as a part of government system , failing which the democratic framework will be incomplete. I am not talking of a nominal presence of the opposition but a real one because the existence of a powerful opposition, will make the ruling party of a country much more alert, active and closer to the interests of the masses. We do not impound the opposition's right to a more balanced parliamentary representation. Besides, we have no objection to discuss the most appropriate means to achieve this. However, the starting point is that the opposition should straighten up its conditions to be internally more democratic and really express the interests of the masses. The close of the seventh legislative term of your esteemed Assembly means that new parliamentary elections will be imminent. So, I wish you all good luck within a framework of honest competition involving parties and individuals. This would deepen democracy and expand the right of participation that we seek to deeply implant into both the Egyptian individual and collective consciousness as well as in practice. I promise that the coming elections will be clean, impartial and subject all through to full supervision of the judiciary since we firmly believe that the independence of the judiciary authority is one of the most important mainstays of rule in Egypt, the state provides all forms of such independence it deserves, while it is an object of pride for every Egyptian. If we are really keen to gurantee free and fair elections, parties and individuals participating in the election process have to avoid non-democratic practices or those which impair political work in Egypt, affect the reputation of an institution which we should attend to its image and its role. Brothers and Sisters, Our vision of our foreign relations from all angles and dimensions is based upon its close association with the national and international objectives we believe in. Through these objectives, we seek to eliminate packets of tensions, put an end to the causes of violent and acute conflicts resulting in shedding innocent blood, destabilizing and threatening countries and peoples security and aborting progress and development efforts. Therefore, as regard our foreign policy, we are committed to whatever enhance the national security of Egypt and sisterly Arab countries and preserve the stability in the Middle East region. Hence, Egypt has been and will be the party most interested in bringing about a comprehensive, just peace in the region in accordance with the provisions of law, principles of legitimacy, rules of equity and referential authority approved by the international community. This necessitates, first of all, that serious and positive moves should be made on various tracks. Negotiations among parties should be made in a pari-passu-basis rather than to be based on concepts of supremacy and the attempts to impose a status quo. The starting-point for the peace process should be to liquidate Israeli occupation of the Arab territories according to the legal reference authority agreed upon by the parties, with the blessing of the international community. For the Palastenian territories and Golan, such authority is represented in both Security Council resolutions 242 and 338. The principle of land for peace and respect for national rights of the Palestinian people. As regards complete withdrawal from South Lebanon, it should be carried out according to the Security Council resolution No 425. Moreover, illegitimate unilateral acts threatening the peace process, chief of which are the settlement activities and confiscation of Arab land, should be avoided. In the wake of Sharm el-Sheikh Summit last September, both the Palestinian Authority and new Israeli government took important steps to implement the agreements concluded earlier. We hope the rest of obligations and entitlements relative to the interim period will be fulfilled, paving the way to the final status negotiations that raise highly important and sensitive issues. Accordingly, these negotiations will require sincere effort and good intentions by both parties. Furthermore, international powers that have a special responsibility are required to exert good offices to help both parties overcome the existing obstacles and differences. I need not affirm that Egypt will continue to exert persistent efforts to help both parties reach an agreement within the agreed time frame. As I said before, change to me is not just a change of persons but most important is change of performance systems and operating methods, in search for the best. It is also a change of internal relations in such a way as to entrench the institutionalized state and enable civil community organizations represented in parties, syndicates and associations to expand the volume of this participation in public work. However, change can not be demanded from the state only, but it is demanded from the whole community. This is because achieving accelerating development that yields benefit to all categories of the community is no longer limited to the state role alone. It is now the responsibility of everybody, starting from the state institutions and the community to individual citizens in the street, the factory, the field, or among his family home, and kinsmen. We have to change ourselves if we want a deeper and more profound change than changing some officials in various positions. It has to be a change that penetrates into our public behaviour as a society and individuals who want to cut short the path of progress and play their part in preparing the community to face challenges. We have to change ourselves and go back to the spring of right valves that consider work a religious duty that oblige everyman to master his work for God's sake, and consider duty a national and moral resposnsibility before it would be an obligation under the law. Brothers and Sisters,The most difficult and the most impossible targets can be achieved if there is will. It will happen also whenever planning is right, an impartial objective scientific outlook prevails, every intellectual is able to express his opinion freely, trust among different categories of people is deepened, people's hearts are filled with enthusiasm for their own revival and people act as real partners in the burdens as well as in the fruits of development. This is the harvest of a long, tough experience that has asserted my deep trust in the ability of Egyptian people to create miracles. I will feel fully satisfied should our march hit our great goal during the new term of presidency, namely to maintain increasing development rates in excess of 7% per annum. This growth whose returns will be shared by all categories of the Egyptian people, will push Egypt to list of average income countries. Our march is ready to hit target because we have spared no effort and did our best to create the right atmosphere to achieve this goal, in spite of obstacles and numerous contingents which tried to curb the progress of development march and obstruct its goals. I will feel more satisfied when I see new generations of Egyptian youth assume more responsibilities of national work in continuing process that guarantees increasing flow of experience and interaction between successive generations through healthy partnership and a creative interaction. Egypt is ready to hit target because it firmly believes in the basic role of stability in realizing major national goals and because it adheres to the proper formula that associates the needs of stability with demands of change. I will feel more satisfied when the social dimension has turned into an integrated philosophy that governs every law and decision. It should be supported by a coherent society where the values of solidarity prevail, a society that honours its responsibility towards the least able categories, respects man's integrity and his right to a descent life and caters for his basic needs. I will feel more satisfied whenever I see the concept of institutionalized state firmly established into ethos of every Egyptian as well as into the practice of all official entities and NGOs. This concept should guide their steps and guarantee the widest scope of participation and stability to the decision-making process. It should further boost collective status, enhance commitment to impartiality and transparency, and due observance of the public interests in every step we take. We pray Allah Almighty to help us achieve these goals, support and assist us, guide us exclusively to the path of good and righteousness. He is the Best Custodian and Supporter. May Allah's peace and mercy be upon you. |
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