CAIRO: Private sector cooperation between the US and Egypt – boosted by bilateral government support – has reached a new stage, according to the US Egypt Business Leaders Forum, formerly known as the US-Egypt Business Council.
Co-chairman Taher Helmy, founding member of Helmy, Hamza and Partners, the Cairo office of international law firm Baker and McKenzie, explained that the latest manifestation of the US-Egypt Business Council reflects the Council’s changing agenda, as dictated by the changing needs of economic development in Egypt.
“In the 1990s the Council dealt primarily with strengthening the role of the private sector in Egypt, as well as the environment, economic reform . and infrastructure projects. The focus was on economic reform – fiscal, monetary, trade – the issues involved with moving from a central plan to a market economy.
“Today there are different issues, he continued, “Reforms are substantially successful, the private sector controls over 75 percent of the Egyptian economy. our primary focus has shifted to entrepreneurship and education.
G. Steven Farris, chairman and chief executive of the Apache Corporation petroleum company – Egypt’s single largest US investor – and co-chairman of the US-Egyptian Business Leaders Forum, stressed, “entrepreneurship and education go hand in hand; education is the foundation for entrepreneurship.
Helmy added that the Forum is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif, as well as the Ministers of Petroleum and Housing. At a press conference on Monday the Forum, in cooperation with Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid, would announce the launch of its entrepreneurship program, intended as a decade-long initiative to promote entrepreneurial activity.
“The program has several aspects: providing monetary support, training, identifying entrepreneurs, recognizing them, and celebrating their success. The idea is that this is how the US became successful, the entrepreneurial spirit is what made the US what it is today . I believe that Egyptians have the creativity and the talent to excel if given the chance . it is time to unleash it, Helmy said.
“Egypt is rich in human capital – our population is unique in the Arab world – but we need to give it a chance. Business cannot succeed, whether foreign or Egyptian, without having the proper skills and human capital needed, he finished.
He pointed out that the Council in the 1990s was responsible for the involvement of the private sector in infrastructure projects to develop roads, ports and airports, and drove specific reforms in the banking sector and pushed for freeing the exchange rate.
Although spearheading the policies that gave Egypt 7 percent GDP growth prior to the economic crisis, the Forum considers reforms sufficient to allow entrepreneurs a better chance of success, given support and training.
Farris termed the Forum as involved in, “a process of evolution, pointing out that the Forum’s overarching objective remains that of strengthening the economic ties between the US and Egypt.
“The purpose for both sides is to increase FDI in Egypt, at the same time to sponsor exports from Egypt to the US, he said; both the Egyptian and American governments have declared the goal of doubling trade over the next five years.
Helmy clarified the distinction between the US-Egypt Business Leaders Forum and the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt (AmCham), a group with similar objectives that he headed for four years:
“[AmCham] is more focused on the business community, whereas we work closely with the governments on both sides, as well as the private sector in both the US and Egypt… we [the Forum] don’t work alone.
The Political Factor
Farris pointed out that although the Forum works with governments to pursue their mutual goals, it avoids entanglement with politics, “This is a business relationship; our job is not to get into the politics of governments but to enhance the ease with which the countries on both sides can further their economic ties.
He did acknowledge that American governmental organizations like USAID could serve as allies in the process of economic cooperation. “We can entice USAID to be supportive of it, and they’ve been supportive. The partnership [with USAID] would be beneficial, but our focus is on human capital and entrepreneurs. USAID could be one avenue [of support].
Both Farris and Helmy applauded President Obama for making economic cooperation and entrepreneurial support a key aspect of Middle East foreign policy.
Farris stated, “Obama has done an outstanding job of making an effort to rejuvenate the [US-Egyptian] relationship at all levels. Whether Egypt or China or any other country in the world, economics is what drives countries’ growth; furthering the economic environment gives great benefits to societies.
He acknowledged that Obama’s approach differs from Bush’s, when rhetoric of democracy building cooled the formerly close relationship. “The times are different, what happened during the Bush Administration was a lot of unrest that was not caused by Egypt but in the region. The current circumstances are more conducive to business.
Helmy likewise expressed appreciation for the current administration’s approach, which includes the upcoming Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship in Washington DC to support entrepreneurs in Muslim majority countries, as well as his planned speech in Indonesia, a follow up to his address in Cairo. “We were encouraged by the statements Obama made in Cairo last year, we now want to start implementing efforts in entrepreneurship.
