On 8 May, AmCham hosted a luncheon with guest speaker Minister of Transport Mohamed Mansour and nearly 600 attendees at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Cairo.

AmCham president Taher Helmy used the opportunity to thank Peter Kaestner, outgoing consul general of the US embassy, for his efforts and assistance over the past period. Kaestner has been of invaluable assistance in expediting US visa interviews and procedures. Helmy also paid recognition to AmCham members Loula Zaklama, Odette Iskander and Nawal Aldijiwi, who were among 50 Arab businesswomen recognized for their business achievements in Forbes Arabia magazine.

He then gave a warm welcome to Mansour and congratulated him for all his efforts during his tenure as president of AmCham, from 1999 to 2003, and predicted his similar success as a cabinet minister. “I am certain as I am standing before you here today that His Excellency Mohamed Mansour will do the job for Egypt, the same way you did the job for one of the largest and most successful businesses in the country,” he said.

Amidst applause, Mansour took the stage. He expressed his gratitude to President Mubarak for appointing him as the minister of transport, which involves overseeing 23 different authorities including: railways, ports, roads and bridges, buses, underground metro and Nile transport. He then discussed the experience of the first 100 days in office.

“What I have found is that transportation is the backbone of the economy of this country. If it doesn’t function properly everything slows down. If the transport system slows down, exports slow down and imports slow down. That’s why it is so important to get the whole system functioning properly,” he said.

Mansour said upon taking office he received advice from the chairmen of multinational companies. He recounted their suggestions and how he was taking them: “Mr. Mohamed, if you’ll kindly meet the leaders – I was meeting the leaders; don’t get in trouble – I haven’t gotten into trouble; don’t talk to the press – I was avoiding the press; and don’t commit yourself to anything.” Mansour joked, “who says I am?”

Tragedy, however, thrust him into the media spotlight. On February 3, 2006, a poorly maintained ferry returning with Egyptian families who had been working in Saudi Arabia sank in the Red Sea, killing some 1,000 of the 1,400 on board. “I had to make decisions and to face the press – not only the Egyptian press but the international press including CNN, FOX News, and the press in Russia and Cyprus,” he said. “I was on the phone and had to give answers.”

He said the one thing he wanted to ensure was that the investigation would be transparent and honest. “We had to find out the causes for this terrible tragedy and the investigation had to be professional, impartial and accurate,” he said.

Mansour explained how the United Nations’ International Maritime Organization (IMO) and its secretary-general provided assistance with the investigation. The IMO helped to establish an international technical investigating committee composed of 11 members, including international lawyers, Egyptian lawyers, university professors and one member from the safety board.

The press was particularly critical about efforts to retrieve the so-called black box, which could help to determine the cause of the ferry sinking. Some in the press even denied that such a device existed on the ferry, but Mansour – with the help of Egyptian, British and French teams, recovered it. “This was the first time in history... that a black box has been retrieved from a depth of 900 meters,” he said.

Highlighting this example, he noted that his ministry would be characterized by transparency and results. “Results take time and most of you who know me, know that I am a man of few words, but when I say something I must deliver,” he said. “My role as a minister is to determine what we can do in the future to prevent these things from happening.”

Mansour outlined his objectives for the ministry noting that safety is the primary goal. “I want to declare safety my top priority in any field, whether it is shipping, transport, roads or any form of transportation,” he stressed. “We have increased safety standards, and I am not going to accept anything in the middle.”

To this end, a crisis management division has been established and 22 new safety inspectors employed, as well as additional safety staff. He noted that the ministry has acquired an automatic identification system (AIS) transponder, which allows ships to exchange navigation and vessel data with each other, and also with coastal stations.

After safety comes efficiency. “We have to improve the efficiency of the economy by increasing the efficiency of the transport system,” Mansour stressed. “It can be done quickly and efficiently, but don’t expect it to happen overnight.”

The Egyptian railway system is one area in which major improvements are needed, Mansour noted. He explained that Egypt’s 155-year-old railway system is the world’s second oldest and moves half a billion people a year. Unfortunately, it has become dilapidated and experienced significant losses year after year in maintenance costs alone. “We have a good system running but it needs financing. It needs for us to think outside of the box,” he said, briefly outlining plans for a massive reconstruction of the rail network with financing from international investors.

Mansour dismissed criticism that the ministry is working to sell off the state’s share of the transport sector to foreign investors without due concern for its resources. He described state assets as a beautiful building that must be properly utilized. “We’re going to bring the best tenants to upgrade it and give us income, and after 20, 30, 40 or 50 years they will give it back to us with interest,” he said. “We will give concessions to the best of the best, and they will come and operate [them].”

Following his presentation, Mansour fielded questions from the audience, which touched on the shocking frequency of road accidents, improvements to the rail system and the status of Cairo’s third metro line.

At the end of the luncheon, AmCham presented the minister with an honorary AmCham membership and a portrait in honor of his positive contributions to both the Chamber and the country as a whole.