Mubarak in Aswan: Muslims and Christians live on one land, under one flag
Egypt, Politics, 1/10/2005

Addressing a rally held in Aswan yesterday, President Mubarak said his main concern is the interest of the limited income brackets who must be helped by the state in confronting the daily needs of life.

President Mubarak appealed to both Muslims and Christians in Egypt to guard against discrimination on a religious basis.

He refuted claims by some foreign quarters in this regard which, he said, were aimed at sowing dissension between the two sides.

"We all are Egyptians and there is no difference between us whatsoever, he added.

Stressing the oneness of the Egyptian people, President Mubarak greeted Christians in Egypt observing the eastern Orthodox Christmas on January 7 and Muslims for the approaching Eid Al-Adha later this month.

"I wish every Egyptian a happy feast," he said.

Touching on domestic affairs, the President said the reform process in Egypt started 20 years ago, rather than the past year or two.

"Since I came to power, the reform process has never ceased, and will not cease, we have made many reforms, freedoms have been established, and Parliaments are standing.

The freedom of expression exists; there is a free press, freedom of religion. This is all available.

The reform process has started long ago and our aim is to begin anew, " he added.

There are two types of reform, economic and political, and this year, there were some political reforms that were put forward to the parliament, the political parties' law, the political rights practice law, the labour unions law, revoking the imprisonment law over publication crimes, he said.

All these bills have been prepared to be referred to Parliament before the end of the session, he added.

The President voiced hope all citizens would take part in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

There are many goals for political reform, that cannot be realised overnight or even in a year or two, he said.

"We have been proceeding on the road of reform over the past 20 years. We will continue and never stop, and reform can continue for another 10 or 15 years, it is a continuous process in accordance with the domestic and international conditions, "he added.

On economic reform which also started long ago, he said that at one point, the citizen was unable to find his medicine, he had to purchase it from abroad at a very high price, and "for this reason, we embarked on the open door process and applied free market economy."

Egypt has also opened the door to investments and ventures and the private sector was encouraged and given the freedom to act, he said.

The government has also given due attention to the tourist sector and has set up many ventures in this field, with the private sector receiving the lion's share, he added.

The President spoke on privatization and explained the motives behind privatizing some projects and industries.

He said that the privatization was carried out in some losing projects whose deficits were paid from the state budget.

He said the state had started privatizing some projects and that privatization would continue.

President Mubarak dismissed reports that the state would privatize vital sectors such as water, electricity and railways.

He called on citizens not to believe in rumors on abolishing free education, pointing out that free education was ensured and nobody could cancel it.

The President said the state had earmarked LE 25 billion for free education and about 10 billion for the health sector, in addition to LE 100 billion to subsidize food, water and electricity.

President Mubarak said that the State had taken major steps in the field of economic reforms, pointing out that more steps would be taken in this regard.

Mubarak said that the state would not impose measures that would affect low-income brackets during the tax and customs amendments.

On reduction of customs duties, the President said the state has been trying to cut customs for a long time, adding that the new government had taken the step to encourage investors either inside or outside Egypt.

The President said cuts in customs duties would encourage investors to expand their factories, increase production lines and create more job opportunities.

Mubarak denied reports that the State levied a sales tax on sardines and spared caviar served by hotels, pointing out that such reports were aiming at creating an unwarranted fuss.

The President said the tax bill was referred to the parliament and being debated by the Shura Council, pointing out that such bill would reduce taxes imposed on citizens and encourage investors.

The President tackled the Qualified Industrial Zones (QUIZ) agreement, saying that it was aimed at creating more job opportunities.

He criticized those who linked the agreement to the issue of normalization, pointing out that the state took the steps that benefited the Egyptian citizen.

He pointed out to the stable conditions in the foreign currency markets, saying the value of the US dollar decreased while the foreign currency reserve increased at the Central Bank of Egypt.

The President said the Egyptian Central Bank (ECB) had suffered from a lack of "foreign currency in the eighties and nineties, especially during the mandate of the government of former Prime Minister Atef Sedki.

President Mubarak recalled that in September 1990 there was no foreign currency to pay for wheat imports. It all has changed now to the better, he added.

On population increase in Egypt, the President said the population increases every year by 1.2m.

He pointed out that British Prime Minister Tony Blair expressed astonishment, during a recent meeting in Sharm El Sheikh, at the rate of population growth in Egypt.

On the Palestinian Presidential election which started on Sunday, the President said that he met with PLO Executive Committee Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei and Interim Palestinian authority President Rawhi Fattouh told them that Egypt did not interfere in internal Palestinian affairs.

The President said he urged the Palestinian leaders to cooperate with each other and to be frank with their people in the service of the Palestinian citizens.

Mubarak expressed hope that positive progress would be made through negotiations instead of the policies of destruction and demolition.

The President said that his call for Palestinian dialogue did not mean halting the Intifada, adding that he wanted to say that the issue required logic and wisdom.

Mubarak pointed out that today's world is not in need of false slogans that would lead to disasters.

Nobody called on the Palestinians to abandon their legitimate rights, but we called for negotiations, said the President, pointing out that Egypt solved its dispute with Israel with negotiations and arbitration.

The President said that late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak were about to solve the main issues such as refugees and Jerusalem during Camp David talks.

The President called on the two sides not to waste more chances and urged the Palestinian side to be ready for negotiations on the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza in order not to give a pretext for the Israeli side which claimed that there was no Palestinian partner.

'On reports by an Arab newspaper on possible US pressures on Egypt in order to give the Palestinians 1,600 kilometres from Sinai as an extension for Gaza in exchange for getting lands from the Negev, Mubarak said nobody dared to abandon even one metre from the Egyptian territories.

On the Iraqi issue and the elections which will be held on January 30, the President described the Iraqi problem as difficult as and even more difficult than the Palestinian problem.

He pointed out that Iraq has various sects such as Sunnis, Shiites and non-Arabs. He expressed hope that the elections would be held in time.

The President also hoped for participation of all Iraqis in the elections, pointing out that the non-participation of some factions would lead to grave consequences.

On the Sudanese issue, the President expressed hope the peace agreement signed in Nairobi on Sunday between the Sudanese government and Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) would be put into effect soon.

The President hoped for solving Darfur problem without interference by foreign parties.

Previous Stories:
  Egypt denies conducting nuclear tests in Turkey   (1/8/2005)
  Egyptian Foreign Minister's Statement on Iraq   (1/8/2005)
  Abul-Gheit: Egypt does not mediate to urge Sunnis participate in elections   (1/7/2005)

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