Doorknock March 2006   Delegates' Profile Mission Report   Missions To The U.S.   AmCham Egypt Doorknock Mission to Washington D.C: (March 7-March 15, 2006) Mission Report AmCham Egypt’s Doorknock Mission to Washington took place from March 8th-March 14th under the theme of “Egypt & the US: Investing in Partnership.” The delegation visited Washington DC during a time when issues related to the Middle East dominated the foreign policy agenda in Washington. The recent Hamas election in Palestine, combined with the continuing unrest in Iraq generated a mood of anticipation in Washington about the nation’s foreign policy, as well as a “wait-and-see” attitude concerning the Middle East.

Our response to concerns about democratization in Egypt was to point out that Egypt is moving in the right direction and shares broad U.S. objectives. We stressed that many people in Egypt – and especially those in the private sector and business community – genuinely support political reform and are not simply responding to perceived American pressure.

However, we emphasized that the United States and Egypt should work together on these issues in a spirit of friendship and alliance that is based on support and encouragement. The methods and timing of Egypt’s political evolution must reflect the reality of Egypt. We believe that we made some real progress in achieving this goal, but we also recognize that it is an ongoing mission.

Despite the lack of progress on FTA negotiations, we were continually told that the U.S.-Egypt relationship remains strong and that Egypt continues to be a friend and a key ally of the United States. Many of those who have been critical of Egypt still consider themselves to be friends of Egypt. A few people told us that Egypt is the target of criticism precisely because it is such an important nation and is so vital to U.S. policy in the region, and thus is held to higher standards and expectations.

Meetings

During five working days, the AmCham Doorknock delegation held over 75 meetings with officials and policymakers in Washington, including:

• 24 Members of the U.S. House of Representatives and 1 U.S. Senator, as well senior staff of an additional 10 Members of the House and 8 Senators. Our meetings included:

  - The Chairman of the House Rules Committee.
  - 7 Members of the House International Relations Committee.
  - 6 Members of the House Ways & Means Committee.
  - 2 members of the House Armed Services Committee.
  - 2 Members of the House Appropriations Committee.
  - 1 Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

• Deputy National Security Advisor (NSC) and Special Assistant to the President for the Middle East and North Africa.

  - Assistant to Vice President Cheney for National Security Affairs.

  - Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs.

  - Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs.

  - Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Europe and the Middle East.

  - Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

  - Acting Administrator of USAID.

  - Undersecretary of Commerce for International Trade.

  - Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs.

  - Deputy Administrator for International Trade, U.S. Department of Agriculture.

  - President of the Aspen Institute.

  - President of the Middle East Institute.

  - President of the Institute for International Economics.

  - Counselor of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

  - Chairman of the National Endowment for Democracy.

  - President of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and the Director of the CSIS Middle East Program.

  - Director of the Trade and Global Policies Project of the Progressive Policy Institute.

  - Vice President for Foreign Policy and Defense Studies, the American Enterprise Institute.

  - Vice President of the Center for Trade Policy Research of the CATO Institute.

  - Former NSC Director Gen. (ret.) Brent Scowcroft.

In addition to these individual meetings, AmCham Egypt was hosted at a reception organized by the National U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce, and a breakfast briefing organized jointly by the Council on Foreign Relations and the Washington office of Exxon Mobil Corporation. H.E Ambassador Nabil Fahmy also hosted a seminar titled “Egypt’s Economic Reform: Recent Developments and Impact on Bilateral Relations.” The Ambassador, the Honorable Micheal Kantor, former USTR & US Secretary of Commerce, as well as Dr.Taher Helmy were all speakers on the panel.

We once again took note of the fact that the personal relationships created by the visits to Egypt of some 70 Congressional staff that AmCham has organized and hosted proved extremely helpful in arranging meetings in Washington and in communicating Egypt’s perspective. We found that Congressmen whose staffers had been hosted by AmCham Egypt had a more nuance view of the status of reforms in Egypt, and a deeper understanding of the overall situation. This growing network of Congressional staffers is becoming a reliable and dedicated source of support for Egypt within Congress, and should not be underestimated as an asset for Egypt in Washington. We encouraged each of the Members of Congress and staff with whom we met to visit Egypt, and are planning to follow-up with many of them who expressed an interest in doing so.

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