El-Baz: The future demands focus on knowledge and science
Egypt, Culture, 8/14/1998

During his meeting yesterday with the students of Cairo University, the Egyptian president's political advisor Osama El-Baz stated in a presentation that Egypt is a large country and an effective regional power in the Middle East.

El-Baz said that thinking of the future of the country is a vital issue more than at any other time in the past since the world is entering a new era of development in terms of politics and economics.

El-Baz spoke of the importance of knowledge as an asset clarifying that the wealth of nations is currently marked by knowledge-related fields, and not by what it possess in raw natural material resources referring to Japan as one of the examples about which he is speaking. Japan is well known for having few natural resources, yet it has managed to raise the standard of living of its citizens through value added industries that rely on science, engineering, management organization, work ethics, that have propelled it to the top ranks of developed countries in terms of national income and economic development.

El-Baz said that science and knowledge are the only ways to build the future, and he confirmed the importance of intellectual organizations that aid the development of this knowledge such as the availability of quality education, technology, scientific research, information access, the human and administrative development.

El-Baz's statements echo what many have come to understand as essential elements for any society's success. It is widely recognized that a silicon chip that sells for thousands of dollars contains raw materials that cost no more than pennies. This value-added source of wealth in manufacturing is the result of the knowledge embodied in the product, and is increasingly the source of new wealth for nations. In addition, natural resources are being replaced by synthetic and artificial materials that are increasingly eroding the value of natural resources, a trend that will only accelerate in the future.

El-Baz concluded by saying that culture is the lesser field that is affected by globalization.

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