A session about national security turned to be not less heated than the paper the National Democratic Party has presented to its members to discuss during the 4th Annual Conference of the party that kicked off today, Tuesday, 19 September.

Participants in the discussions actively explained their vision of how best Egypt can protect its national security, a term that has acquired greater importance given the turbulence the Middle East region witnesses every day.

Some of the participants were of the view that Egyptian-American relations must also encompass the American people itself. They opined that Egypt-US relations being restricted only to the US administration would not do.

Other participants voted for stronger relations with African and Asian countries through a strengthening of trade and scientific relations with these countries.
The participants also voiced interest in bolstering Egypt's relations with neighboring non-Arab countries, such as Turkey, Ethiopia and Iran.

At the same time, the participants voiced concern over increasing Israeli presence in Africa particularly in the Nile Basin area and called for countering this presence effectively.
"Each country has its own perception of national security," said Secretary for Media  Alieddin Helal, jumping into the fray.

He explained that Egypt has a strong interest in preserving the dominating Arab identity of the Middle region and fostering Arab solidarity.

"Egypt can not actually be denied the right to have its own vision of its national security priorities," Helal said.