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WHY EGYPT?
The sea change represented by the election of Barack Hussein Obama as US president last year was not lost on Egyptians, who, like much of the world, have watched eagerly to see what this new era in the US will bring. Now, Egyptians will have a chance to meet face to face with Obama, when he comes here early this month to deliver a long-anticipated address to the Muslim world.
Obama’s choice of Egypt seems especially apt. In the heart of the Middle East and North Africa region, Egypt has a substantial history as a center of the Arab and Muslim worlds – and it is a role that has continued in modern times, with Egypt’s significance in the region, and indeed globally, reaffirmed by Obama’s choice.
Egypt is not only the Arab world’s most populous country, but also one of its most important centers of development. Furthermore, Egypt is a vital partner to the United States, serving as a bedrock of stability in the region, not only politically, but, more and more, economically.
While business ties between Egypt and the US have grown in recent years, increased dialogue brings the opportunity to push forward economic cooperation. The impact of Egypt’s business reforms in recent years has been felt across the Atlantic, partially through continuous dialogue with US policymakers, such as through AmCham’s DoorKnock mission, which we are covering extensively in this issue of Business Monthly.
We should continue this successful trend, seizing this moment of increased engagement to reach out and push for further deepening of the Egypt-US economic relationship, with increased liberalization of trade as a priority.
Although many analysts and journalists were surprised by Barack’s choice, and some have called it risky, I see it as a smart and safe play. The choice of Egypt took me back to a book that I read 10 years ago, The Pivotal States, edited by Paul Kennedy. In line with the authors’ analysis of the states pivotal to the US in the Muslim world, Obama’s choices are limited: Indonesia, Egypt or Turkey. Indonesia would be excluded for fear of alienating the Arab world, while Turkey would signal a political message that I don’t think the US is yet ready to make. Egypt, as Robert Gibbs, press secretary of the White House, has said “represents the heart of the Arab world.” Indeed, it is the right choice.
KHALED SEWELAM
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