Peace for Development

Over the past few months Egypt has been the target of hostile campaigns allegedly for blocking the Middle East peace drive and bringing pressure to bear on Palestinians to toughen stands at the negotiating table. Such smear campaigns, however, have failed in recognizing facts of the near past, which credit Egypt with being the first Arab country to sign peace with Israelis, despite the vehement objection in the Arab World culminating in boycotting Cairo at an Arab summit in Baghdad in the late 1970's.

Of all Arabs, Egypt bore the brunt of three decades of military hostilities with Israel. Seeking peace, Egypt was sincere out of unshakable conviction that peace should prevail if the long-volatile Middle East area is to start catching up with the economic vigour locomotive chugging ahead everywhere else. This may explain why Cairo has been in the fore of the world countries striving to make peace a reality in this region. And in doing so, Egypt takes no sides rather siding with a durable and lasting peace which could brighten up the prospects in the region and consign hostilities to history.

Without establishing this peace, any talk about economic boom in the Middle East would be day-dreaming, if not political self-deception. No wonder Egypt throws its full weight behind kick-starting the peace process, with the land-for-peace formula as the basis, simply because without setting this formula in practice, this region would remain doomed with all its people, including Israelis, to footing the bill.

Thus, political stability has to chart the way ahead for Middle East economic development. Egypt has assimilated this fact well and acted accordingly, though this may not dawn on others yet! Meanwhile, in spreading the Middle East peace-making, Egypt has been vividly interested in putting its economy house in order.

An illustrating example is the package of successful economic reforms launched over the past few years, underpinned by the key components of privatization. In tandem are great incentives offered to investors in order to make Egypt an investment haven and the region's finance kingpin. The efforts have started to pay, as attested to by many renowned financial institutions around the world.

And in a highly laudable and well-timed move, Egypt has embarked on a giant development scheme in the southern part of the country. The scheme, locally known as the Toshki Project, is expected to usher the country into the 21st Century and lure the bulk of the mushrooming population away from the confines of the old Delta into the vast tracts of the New Valley in the making.

And with economic liberalisation leading the way the world over, Egypt has not lagged behind, as is reflected in its adoption of the market economy. This has prompted the country to vigorously seek to update its industries with the eventual aim of making them more capable to compete with foreign equivalents, particularly as the ten-year break given under the GATT agreement is nearing an end, consequently dismantling any national trade barrier.

The clear-cut conclusion is that Egypt is wholeheartedly pursuing economic prosperity for its people, as well as for others in the region, and is at pains to provide the propitious climate in order to make the goal attainable