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Egypt
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Area: 997,739 Sq. Km
Population: 70.5 million (2004)
Capital City: Cairo (population - 16.7million)
People: Eastern Hamitic (Egyptians, Bedouins, and Berbers) (99%); Greek, Nubian, Armenian, other European (primarily Italian and French) (1%)
Languages: Arabic (official), English and French widely understood
Religion(s): Muslim (mostly Sunni) (90%), Coptic Christian (9%) and other (1%)
Currency: 1 Egyptian Pound = 100 piasters
Major political parties: National Democratic Party (ruling party), Wafd Party, Tagammu and Party
Government: Republic
Head of State: President Mohammed Hosni MUBARAK (since October 1981)
Prime Minister/Premier: Dr Ahmed Nazif (since July 2004)
Foreign Minister: Mr Ahmed Aboul Gheit (since July 2004)
GEOGRAPHY
Egypt is the centre of the Arab world, geographically, culturally and intellectually. It sits on the Mediterranean coast of North Africa, with Libya to the west, Sudan to the south and Israel and the Red Sea to the East. Egypt forms the only land bridge between Africa and the remainder of the Eastern Hemisphere and controls the Suez Canal, the shortest sea link between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. The climate is mainly dry but along the Mediterranean coast there are winter rains. Temperatures are comfortable in the winter but summer temperatures are very high. Gebel Katarina at 2642m is Egypt's highest point.
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HISTORY
The Nile Valley has hosted imperial powers since the Pharaonic era (beginning in the fourth millennium BC). Then came the Persians, the Alexandrian Greeks, the Romans and Byzantines. By 641AD the Muslim Arabs had conquered the whole country. Following the Abbasid caliphate, the Fatimids invaded in 969. It was the Fatimids who founded the city of Cairo (Al-Qahira – the Conqueror) and established Al-Azhar University. Subsequent rule by Salah Al-Din (Saladin) and the Mamluk sultans was ended by Ottoman occupation in 1517.
Napoleon invaded Egypt in 1798, and this effectively concluded Ottoman rule, even though the French were expelled by an Anglo-Ottoman alliance in 1801. In the ensuing power struggle, the Albanian Muhammad Ali triumphed. His dynasty oversaw westernisation of Egypt, the building of the Suez Canal, and colonisation of northern Sudan. In 1882, a British force occupied Cairo, and the British Consul-General became the effective ruler.
In December 1914 Egypt was declared a British protectorate with Hussein Kamil proclaimed the Sultan of Egypt. Led by Saad Zaghlul Pasha, there was a resurgence of Egyptian nationalism after World War I. In February 1922 Egypt was recognised as an independent sovereign state. An Anglo-Egyptian treaty of alliance was signed in 1936. It recognised Egypt's full independence and introduced a phased withdrawal of British forces. Despite this, and the installation of an Egyptian royal family descending from the sultans, the British military presence and influence remained, the final British troops leaving the Suez Canal zone in 1956.
Nationalism and defeat in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war discredited the monarchy, and on 23 July 1952 the Free Officers seized power in a coup d'etat. The King abdicated. The following year, General Muhammad Neguib was proclaimed President of the new republic.
In 1954, Neguib was replaced as president by Gamal Abd Al-Nasser. A popular vote affirmed this in 1956. Under his presidency, Egypt recognised Sudanese independence; Israel, Britain and France launched a tripartite attack (the Suez War); Egypt and Syria enjoyed a short-lived union, the United Arab Republic (1958-61); and following the June 1967 War, the Sinai Peninsula was occupied by Israel. Yet Nasser was the object of popular adulation across the entire Arab world, and his death in 1970 sent shockwaves far beyond Egypt's borders.
Nasser's successor, Anwar Al-Sadat presided over the expulsion of Soviet military advisers (1972); the October 1973 War, which represented a partial triumph for Egypt; improved relations with the USA; economic infitah (opening up); and peace with Israel following US-brokered talks at Camp David. The latter prompted Egypt's expulsion from the Arab League and complicated Sadat's already ambivalent relations with domestic opponents: on 6 October 1981, militant Islamists assassinated him at a military parade.
Following the assassination of Sadat, Vice-President Hosni Mubarak was appointed president, a post he occupies to this day. Mubarak oversaw the return of Egypt to the Arab League in 1991, following over a decade of isolation. During this time, Egypt had joined the international coalition, which drove Iraqi occupation forces out of Kuwait, and since then, Mubarak's Egypt has played a pivotal role in the Middle East Peace Process.
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POLITICS
Overview
President Mubarak was re-elected on 7 September 2005 for his fifth successive term. On 25 May 2005, a constitutional amendment was passed to allow for free and direct Presidential elections to be contested by multiple candidates. There is no obvious successor to President Mubarak, as he has not appointed a vice-president who, traditionally, would take over his post.
President Mubarak assumed power in October 1981, after President Sadat's assassination by Islamic extremists. A state of emergency has existed continuously since 1981, which gives the authorities the ability to detain people suspected of being a threat to national security and public order. In May 2006, the state of emergency was renewed for a further two years, or until new anti-terror legislation has been approved. President Mubarak abandoned many of the unpopular features of Sadat's domestic policies, condemning privilege, ostentation and profiteering and placing new emphasis on economic reform.
The President appoints the Prime Minister. Ahmed Nazif has occupied this post since July 2004. Elections to the People's Assembly are held every five years and were last held in November/Decemeber 2005. 444 deputies are elected by popular vote, 10 are appointed by the President. The second chamber, the Advisory Council, has 176 elected members and 88 presidential appointees.
In the 2005 People's Assembly, the NDP occupied 361 seats, independent candidates 24, Muslim Brotherhood 88 (nominally independents) and opposition parties 11 (Wafd – 6, Tagammu – 2, Karama – 2, Ghad – 1). Although the NDP won by an overwhelming majority, the Muslim Brotherhood (who are banned as an organisation in Egypt) made significant gains.
The Egyptian Government has begun to tackle some of the social and economic issues, which contribute to the spread of religious extremism. The current government is placing emphasis on economic reform, with measures to privatise some of the large public sector enterprises, attract foreign investment and improve the education system.
President Mubarak’s National Democratic Party (NDP) has been in power since it’s formation by President Sadat in 1978 and dominates the People’s Assembly. The Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamic organisations are banned and even secular political parties are subject to restrictions and control.
President Mubarak has made an effort to introduce greater pluralism by allowing multi-candidate Presidential election for the first time in Egypt’s history. However, the criteria for standing is very strict. In February 2005, the leader of the Al Ghad Party, Ayman Nour, was arrested on charges of alleged forgery and subsequently released on bail. At trial in december 2005, Nour was found guilty and sentenced to five years in prison.
ECONOMY
Overview
A dynamic business sector provides prosperity and opportunities for a small part of the population. But the majority of people depend on traditional agriculture, on poorly paid Government employment, or on scratching a living in the large informal economy. With the population still growing at close to 2% a year, economic growth in recent years has been well below the long-term target of circa 7% per annum and sufficient to provide only a slow improvement in average incomes: there is still a lot of unemployment and poverty, especially in Upper Egypt. Subsidies on basic foods provide a socially important safety net.
Ahmed Nazif's government is considered liberal and business orientated, and the new economic team of Youssef Boutros Ghali at Finance, Rashid Mohamed Rashid at Foreign Trade and Industry and Mahmoud Mohieddin at Investment are widely seen as the most reformist and competent yet. Their announced priorities include custom reform, personal and corporate income tax, financial system reform, investment promotion, and fostering innovation. But in a sign that economic policy will continue to be constrained by social issues, another of the Government's priorities is preserving the social safety net. Public sector reform and the reduction of subsidies are proving difficult nettles to grasp.
In trade, Egypt is heavily import-dependent. Exports include oil, cotton and textiles. Service industries, specifically tourism, canal revenues and emigrant workers' remittances, provide a significant proportion of foreign currency earnings.
Basic Economic Facts
Sources: World Bank, IMF (IFS, DOTS)
GDP: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\$82bn (2003)
GDP per head: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\$1220 (2003)
Annual growth (real GDP, 1999-2004): 3.9%
Inflation (consumer price index, Q4 2004/Q4 2003): 11.9%
Major Industries: Agriculture, Manufacturing, Services
Major trading partners 2002: Exports - US (18%), Italy (14%), UK (8%). Imports - US (16%), Germany (8%), Italy (6%), France (6%), China (5%)
Exchange rate: £1 = 10.24 Egyptian pounds (October 2005)
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Egypt continues to work closely with Israel and the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas. In November last year, Egypt was instrumental in helping the parties reach agreement to open the Gaza-Egypt border at the Rafah crossing point, which resulted in the successful launch of the EU Border Assistance Mission at Rafah. This is the first time that the Palestinians have had responsibility with Egypt for one of their own borders.
Egypt remains an important regional interlocutor, and plays an active role in the Arab League. The Quartet (EU, US, UN and Russia) met with Egyptian Foreign Minister, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, and other Arab Foreign Ministers on 9 May 2006 to exchange views on regional issues, including the Arab/Israel conflict. Egypt continues to work with the parties and the international community towards a just and lasting solution to the conflict.
Middle East Peace Process
Sudan
Egypt has close relations with Sudan. Relations reached a low in 1995 when Sudanese-supported gunmen attempted to assassinate President Mubarak in Addis Ababa, but have since improved. Egypt has followed closely on the peace agreement in Sudan between the Government and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) which resulted in the signature on 9 January 2005 of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. Egypt also mediated an agreement between the parties to the CPA and the Northern Democratic Alliance (NDA) – an umbrella group of opposition forces – which was signed on 18 June, bringing the NDA into the political process in Sudan. Egypt has provided support to the UN Peace Support Operation in southern Sudan, in support of the CPA, and to the African Union force in the crisis-stricken region of Darfur in Western Sudan. It has also provided medical and humanitarian relief to this region. Egypt claims the 'Hala'ib Triangle', under partial Sudanese administration that is defined by an administrative boundary which supersedes the treaty of 1899.
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Iraq
EU
The EU-Egypt Association Agreement came into force on June 2004. It includes provisions for initiating free trade between the EU and Egypt. It also includes co-operation in a wide range of fields, including regular political dialogue on issues such as human rights, rule of law and democratisation. The European Commission have almost completed negotiations with Egypt on a European Neighbourhood Policy Action Plan, the next step in developing the EU's relationship with Egypt. The Action Plan identifies areas for reform linked to closer co-operation with the EU.
By themselves the conclusion of Association Agreements will not achieve a EuroMed Free Trade Area by 2010. Free Trade Agreements between Southern Mediterranean Partners are also needed to maximise the region's potential for economic growth. The most recent agreement is the Agadir Agreement, signed in February 2004, which will provide for free trade between Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt by 2006.
The EU's main policy and co-operation framework with the countries of the Mediterranean region, including Egypt, is known as the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership. The tenth anniversary EuroMed Summit, held in Barcelona on 27-28 November 2005, reviewed the first ten years of the Barcelona Process.
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