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Peace is a product of understanding The communications gap between the United States administration and much of the world is widening. This fact has not gone unnoticed by a number of concerned individuals in government and business in Washington DC, where I was fortunate to attend a conference entitled “Further prospects for a strategic partnership,” examining the historic and contemporary relationship between Egypt and the United States. Around 400 people attended the gathering, hosted by Foreign Policy Magazine, an influential publication funded by the Carnegie Endowment for Peace. The encouraging turnout indicated sharp interest in the question at hand, formulated by Foreign Policy as follows: “Can affinities between Egypt and the United States that helped secure strategic partnerships for a quarter century now be drawn upon to support joint action on new and enlarged strategic goals appropriate to the 21st century?” Needless to say, it all depends on what those “enlarged
strategic goals” are going to be. Nevertheless, the sentiment was positive when former secretary of state Lawrence Eagleburger opened the proceedings, introducing Republican senator John Sununu, who spoke optimistically about “getting beyond the era of crises.” In this political section of the program, Egyptian presidential adviser Osama El Baz, US special envoy Anthony Zinni and Abdel Moneim Said of the Al-Ahram Center for Strategic Studies contributed divergent but essentially compatible views. El Baz was, as always, uncompromising on the issue of regional peace. The next segment looked at prospects for trade, investment and economic development. Dr. Youssef Boutros-Ghali discussed the floating of the pound and the expected effect of stimulating investment. Dr. Fred Bergston, director of the Institute for International Economics, and Catherine Novelli, assistant US trade representative for Europe and the Mediterranean, placed Egypt in the context of global trade, outlining opportunities that would arise in an enabling business environment. I myself was honored to speak as a member of the Egyptian business community. In this capacity, I emphasized that whatever the obstacles – and they are many – the framework for achieving prosperity in Egypt is closer than ever before. Gamal Mubarak, the keynote speaker, focused on reform in the National Democratic Party. Finally, for the cultural portion of the program, we heard from Dr. Ismail Serageldin of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina; Edward Walker, president of the Middle East Institute; Mona Zulficar, corporate lawyer and civil society activist; and Mary Eisenhower, CEO of People to People International. The Washington gathering provided a valuable forum for exchange. The general feeling was that the Egypt-US alliance remains strong and is vital to the resolution of regional conflict. Yet at the heart of this meeting was the global tension arising from the current US administration’s vision of foreign policy. Clearly, if “peace, prosperity and understanding” are what we’re after, then these values must pass from rhetoric into action, and those in power must set examples of how to achieve them. The United States has always been a model for the balance between private and public interests, for openness and debate. It was heartening to see many thoughtful Americans agreeing that to ignore their nation’s historic status and alliances was in no one’s interest. Indeed, peace is a product of understanding. There
can be no lasting prosperity, in our region or the world, without
it. Mohamed Mansour |
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