We need to reaffirm the need for an Arab common market. The implementation of the agreement to facilitate commercial exchange between Arab countries should prove a positive step in this direction. The agreement, which came into effect with the first day of 1998, has already created a free trade zone for 18 Arab countries, and we can hope that with the creation at some future date of an Arab customs union, this zone will come to include the whole of the Arab world. Nor should we ignore our relations with the rest of Africa. We have not only an opportunity to enhance Egypt s already well-established bilateral relations with many African countries, but also the prospect of establishing an African common market.
African markets offer an excellent outlet for the goods produced by Egypt s growing private sector.
Our immediate task, therefore, should be to determine the needs of these markets and include the appropriate calculations in our economic planning. The Toshka projects, again, may provide a valuable opportunity to reinforce Egyptian-African cooperation. At the same time, whether we like it or not, we must take into account the process of globalization, which is the primary dynamic of the new international economic order. It is imperative that we study this process thoroughly, in order to be able to take advantage of the opportunities it offers, while avoiding the many pitfalls it contains. If we can develop comprehensive policies on such a considered basis, we will be able to complete the process we have already begun with our financial, legislative and administrative policies, and thereby hasten the process of privatization.