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AmCham Egypt Mission to the United States, March
20-31, 2000
This year, the AmCham
Egypt delegation went to America armed with impressive economic
figures – testimony to the success of the country’s Economic
Reform & Structural Adjustment Program. The objectives of the AmCham
Egypt 2000 Mission to the United States – the 17th
consecutive annual visit - were to build on the success of recent
missions and on the growing U.S.-Egyptian commercial and economic
relationship. In addition, coming one week prior to the visit to
Washington by H.E. President Hosni Mubarak and key ministers, the
DoorKnock
delegation was able to play an important role in laying the groundwork
for the official visit.
But perhaps the highlight of this year’s DoorKnock was the gala
dinner in honor of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, sponsored by AmCham Egypt
and held at the Library of Congress. This dinner, which featured H.E.
Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak as the guest of honor, raised substantial funds,
approximately $900,000, for the Bibliotheca Alexandrina
and helped to solidify AmCham Egypt’s position as the premier
private sector organization in Egypt.
Overview:
The DoorKnock schedule
included 169 meetings with members of Congress, congressional staff,
administration officials, representatives of international financial
institutions and officials at Washington-area think-tanks. Of
those meetings, 68 were with congresspersons and eight with senators,
in
addition to the outstanding meeting with William Daley, U.S. secretary of
commerce. As usual, the DoorKnock delegation divided into
six sub-groups for these meetings. In addition, there were three
meetings for the entire DoorKnock delegation and a special meeting
where AmCham Egypt president, Mr. Mohamed Mansour, was guest speaker:
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A luncheon arranged at the Center
for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS), featuring informal
comments by Judith Barnett, Robert Pelletreau, Alfred Atherton, as
well as Mohammed Mansour and several DoorKnock members. Over 45
policymakers, businesspeople, academics and journalists attended
the luncheon.
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A breakfast hosted by the Greater
Washington Board of Trade, featuring several dozen representatives
from small and medium-size companies located in the Washington
area. The emphasis was on technology and computer services
companies, as well as the service sector. This event offered
AmCham Egypt an excellent opportunity to reach out to the private
sector in Washington, D.C. and to establish relationships with some
of the most dynamic information-technology firms.
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A roundtable discussion hosted by
the Middle East and North Africa division of the World Bank.
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A special subcommittee 1 Meeting
of the Partnership for Economic Growth & Development attended by
the Egyptian minister of finance and senior officials from the U.S.
departments of State and Commerce.
This year’s AmCham Egypt reception was held at
the Gold Room of the Rayburn House Office Building, affording an
opportunity for the DoorKnock delegation to meet socially with members
of Congress and their staff, as well as Washington policymakers,
academics, members of the press and businesspeople. The Honorable
Congressman Benjamin Gilman, chairman of the House International
Relations Committee, attended the event along with several of his
House colleagues and Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell, who advocated
the event. Other prominent guests included Egypt’s minister
of finance, Medhat Hassanein, the U.S. ambassador to Egypt, Daniel
Kurtzer, and author and New York Times columnist Thomas
Friedman.
Theme and dialogue:
The theme of this
year’s DoorKnock Mission – "Egypt: The Key to Regional Trade
and Investment" - could not have been more appropriate or
timely. This year’s visit focused on the following issues:
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Egypt’s continuing economic
progress. Last year’s DoorKnock message – that Egypt has
entered the ranks of major emerging markets – was reiterated in
this year’s meetings. The fact that Egypt has sustained this
growth and continues to reform its economy, while many other
emerging markets have witnessed more erratic progress, added a
very positive element to Egypt’s story.
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The growing importance of foreign
investment in Egypt. The DoorKnock delegation offered an update on
major U.S. investments in Egypt and discussed some of the
incentives that have been introduced to attract U.S. and other
foreign investors. Over a dozen members of Congress or their staff
expressed specific interest in organizing a trade mission to Egypt
and/or vice versa.
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Egypt’s political and strategic
partnership with the United States. Egypt continues to be the
target of some low-key criticism in Washington as a result of the
so-called "cold peace" with Israel, Egyptian pressure on
Israel to sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, and President
Mubarak’s recent comments about Israeli actions in Lebanon.
While these criticisms have not caused a serious undermining of
the U.S.-Egyptian relationship, the DoorKnock delegation
nevertheless used its meetings to re-emphasize Egypt’s military
and strategic importance to the United States and commitment to
– and invaluable support for – the peace process in the Middle
East.
The DoorKnock delegation:
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Presented the facts about Egyptian-Israeli trade
and investment, and discussed the status of the proposed "peace
pipeline" natural-gas project between the two countries
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Highlighted the importance of the U.S.-Egyptian
strategic relationship and its value to the United States
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Explained Egypt’s position on the peace process
and the critical role that President Mubarak has played to keep
the process moving
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The USAID program. Members of Congress, in particular,
benefited from learning about how the USAID program has helped
Egypt achieve economic growth and has encouraged the Egyptian
private sector to achieve its potential. The USAID program was
presented as an investment that has paid off for Egyptians as
well as for the United States – in other words, as a true
foreign-aid "success story."
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Egypt’s vision for a post-peace Middle East.
Members of Congress and others learned of Egypt’s views
on economic cooperation in the Middle East after peace is finally
achieved. Egypt was presented as the cornerstone of this process:
just as there could be no lasting peace in the Middle East without
Egypt, there can be no serious regional economic cooperation
without Egypt.
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Religious freedom. The issue of religious conflict
was raised in several congressional meetings, and the DoorKnock
delegation was prepared to address it.
The DoorKnock
delegation distributed at its meetings several in-depth, informative
documents that were prepared by AmCham’s Business Studies &
Analysis Center. These included: Egypt 2000, the Stable Emerging
Market; Egypt-U.S. Trade Relations; Exporting to COMESA and South
Africa; and Social and Economic Benefits of USAID Programs in Egypt,
in addition to several position papers.
In short, the 2000
DoorKnock mission allowed AmCham Egypt to solidify past
relationships, build a number of new and promising relationships,
and maintain its position as the premier private sector organization
in Egypt. It was clear from both the quantity and substance of the
meetings that both the public and private sectors in Washington
regard AmCham Egypt as the place to turn to for accurate and open
dialogue about the U.S.-Egyptian relationship.
Business mission to New York
In conjunction with the 2000 DoorKnock mission to
Washington, D.C., the annual mission to the United States included
a visit to New York. The state is considered the hub of all financial
institutions around the world. The mission served to enhance Egypt’s
business image and increase international awareness of the potential
of investment in the Egyptian market. A key goal of the Business
Delegation was to present Egypt as the passageway to the African
and Middle Eastern Economic Market. On March 29, the chairman of
the Bank of New York hosted a luncheon on the occasion of the AmCham
visit. The same evening, a special conference was organized by AmCham
Egypt, EFG-Hermes and the Egyptian Capital Market Authority. The
guest speaker, Mr. Abdel Hamid Ibrahim, addressed the attendees
encouraging Egyptians who reside in the United States to invest
in Egypt
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