Mubarak asks Nazif to form new cabinet

Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak has asked Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif Tuesday to form a new cabinet. Mubarak said according to the government in a letter to Nazif:

You are fully aware that Egypt is on the threshold of a new stage which is likely to finalize the political, economic, and social reforms already achieved over the past years. These will add up to those made on the road towards comprehensive and integrated development; thus responding to the people's aspirations; addressing their problems and expectations, especially those of limited-income brackets and maintaining the supreme interests of both the homeland and the citizens.

In my presidential electoral platform, I have put forward a clear-cut vision of the features and goals for the coming stage. I have also underlined in my speech on the opening of the parliamentary session and legislative season that I am committed to working with our representative councils towards implementing all aspects of the platform.

This vision hinges on pursuing political reform and further entrenching an institutionalized state, with the underpinning being respect for the Constitution and law, protection of citizens and their fundamental freedoms and the independence of the judiciary. This vision is based on the pursuit of sustained ongoing economic and social reforms, which would raise the standard of living for all Egyptian families.

The forthcoming stage requires close coordination between the government and the representative councils. It also requires effective action on both the executive and legislative levels up to the expectations of our people and to the requirements of national action during this period granted all the challenges it poses and all the hopes and aspirations it raises.

As I previously asserted, the main challenge ahead of us over the coming period is to create more job opportunities and to curb unemployment. Related to this is the need to increase investment rates, employment and economic growth, and to concomitantly enhance the competitiveness of our exports on world markets and to improve performance in both the production and service sectors.

In order to fulfill our ambitious goals for the coming phase, we are also required to continue to liberalize the economy and to enhance our ability to attract more investments and tourism. Moreover, we should continue to encourage the private sector and provide a favorable environment to bolster its role in pooling the investments necessary to provide more jobs opportunities for our youth.

While forging its way towards achieving these ambitious goals over the coming period, the State recognizes its social responsibility towards the vulnerable categories and exerts its utmost to enable them to cope with the burdens and costs of living. To this end, the State will also continue to upgrade insurance, social security, and health insurance system.

The development of education and health systems is a hard core goal for the coming phase; being the mainstay of human development. Associated with this is the need to improve the efficiency and training levels. We also seek greater efforts towards upgrading the state administrative machinery at both the central and local levels and advancing and expanding the base of scientific research.

The coming period also requires us to develop the industrial and agricultural sectors,upgrade utilities and transport services, to continue to modernize rural and urban areas in Upper and Lower Egypt, to develop slums and address, through creative solutions, citizens' problems and to improve their living standards as well as services rendered to them.

In view of your high efficiency and ability and of the achievements made by the Cabinet under your premiership last year, we have decided to mandate you once again to form a new cabinet able to shoulder the burdens and requirements of this phase, along with the knowledge, experience required, and the ability to work at team spirit, in harmony and cohesion and in full coordination with our representative and consultative councils; giving citizens and civil society organizations the chance to contribute ideas, expertise and sincere patriotic efforts towards realizing our people's aspirations for a better future.

My mandate to you to form a new cabinet comes at a time when our national economy has recovered and is now showing steadily improving indicators. I am fully confident that your new cabinet will further, reinforce and capitalize on the achievements already made.