(Photo courtesy of Embassy of Sweden in Cairo)
Sweden’s Ambassador to Egypt, Charlotta Sparre, encouraged Egypt to look forward to the future in a meeting with journalists at the embassy on Monday morning.
Sparre told reporters of her diplomatic background which included postings in Jordan, Brussels and a previous stint in Egypt. She expressed her love for Egypt, highlighting various aspects of art and culture.
On Egypt’s current political situation, Sparre stressed that strengthening the economy is a vital part of the transition. She said “It will be important for every Egyptian to say ‘roll up your sleeves and do the required work’ that is easier said than done but it will have to a simultaneous process of economic and political development.”
In response to a question as to how she viewed the ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi, Sparre said, “I see it as a change of regime, 30 June was clearly a question of people taking to the streets and showing their discontent with what was. I think there could have been other ways of possibly dealing with the rest of the process. I think what is important now is to move ahead.”
Asked about the new draft constitution, which will be put to referendum in mid-January, Sparre said that the constitutional process and the upcoming elections “lay a foundation for development for the future.” She pointed out “A constitution, however much it is a fundamental framework, in the end it is the question of how it is implemented that will make the difference on the ground.”She stressed the importance for Egyptians to discuss the draft constitution to ensure that they are all a part of the process.
Sparre said that inclusion is a “fundamental element for successful development of the Egyptian transition period and a fundamental element for building a genuine democracy and building a sound economic system.” She called for “inclusion in a broad sense, social inclusion, gender inclusion, age inclusion but also inclusion of different political voices into consideration.”
