CAIRO: US Ambassador to Egypt Margaret Scobey rejected on Monday the notion that the US is awaiting the results of the upcoming parliamentary election until offering its full support to Egypt.
Speaking at the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt’s Annual General Meeting and Luncheon, Ambassador Scobey reiterated key points previously outlined by US President Barack Obama, affirming that the US is working diligently in supporting Egypt through this period of transition.
According to Scobey, the US has been and remains “sincere” in seeing Egypt become a “prosperous” and prominent country in the region and the world. She went on to note that to her, Egypt “is not a poor country,” but instead very rich in resources, and even more in its people. While the rest of the world was “living in caves,” the ambassador explained, Egypt was “building civilizations.”
In addition to highlighting decades of US economic assistance to Egypt, the ambassador also said that the US has for years advocated both “privately and publicly” for political reform in Egypt, such as ending the emergency law and holding fair elections.
However, what the world witnessed in Tahrir Square earlier this year, Scobey continued, showed that the Egyptian people, the country’s “only source of legitimacy,” demanded more.
Scobey also denied that the US’ response to the protests, which began on January 25, came too late. She explained that ultimately, the decision regarding political transition in a country resides with “the citizens of [that] country,” and not with the US. However, once the Egyptian people demonstrated their true aspirations, the US offered its support to them and began calling on Egypt to immediately begin a “political transition.”
In regards to specific details of how the US planned to assist Egypt in its transition to democracy, the ambassador reiterated President Obama’s pledge to immediately make available $150 million through USAID, relieve $1 billion in debt over the next three years, and raise up to $2 billion for infrastructure projects through the US’ Overseas Private Investment Corporation.
The $150 million from USAID will be used to fulfill Egypt’s immediate political and economic needs, but will not be dedicated to trying to “influence the results of the election,” Scobey explained. Instead, the money will be used for training efforts to ensure for free elections, and other areas in which the US can support the political transition, but only "if asked” by Egypt.
One area where the US will not be able to assist any time soon, the ambassador regretted, was in regards to assuaging Egypt’s trade deficit with the US through the passage of a bilateral free trade agreement. Despite years of previous talks and recent calls by prominent US Senator John McCain, the passage of an FTA would not be feasible at the moment, due to strong “resistance” amongst domestic US political groups, she explained.
Speaking on the activities of the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt, Ambassador Scobey emphasized the importance of civil society organizations, like American Chamber, in establishing a democratic Egypt. The American Chamber “personifies the concept of civil society,” which is a “necessary element” that forms the “bedrock of democracy.”
By emerging out of the interests of groups of citizens, civil societies act as the “conscience” of a nation, offering its citizens a platform for taking “direction action,” the ambassador continued.
The ambassador commended the American Chamber’s activities in Egypt, and urged it to continue its “constructive role” in Egypt’s development. She also stressed the chamber’s value of serving as a platform for practicing elections, discourse and campaigning, noting the amount of energy “poured into elections” within the chamber.
