Papyri, icons, manuscripts and monuments treasured in monasteries and churches have captured interest all over the world. To mention only one potential target audience, the sons and daughters of Christian emigrants bon. Finally, the Islamic period's splendid art and culture, best represented in Fatimid Cairo, continues to arouse keen interest world-wide, among specialists and lay people alike. Apart from its cultural history, Egypt's intellectual contribution in modern times deserves to be publicised. During the 20th century alone, Egypt released innumerable literary works, feature films, dramatic works and songs.
Egyptian culture is much appreciated in the other Arab countries.
Yet the authorities are not doing enough to address problems of pirating, plagiarism and intellectual property rights violations. Classics of Egyptian cinema, for instance, are shown by Arab networks without due permission or payment of royalties. The new world order and the GATT are not necessarily anathema to Egypt's interests. They are simply the rules of the economic game in the coming era, with which we must comply. I foresee much good for our economy if we succeed in marketing our cultural commodities and make optimum use of our history before another actor steps in to take our place.