A Visit to Phoenix, Arizona

5 October 2007

Ambassador Nabil Fahmy visited Phoenix from July 18-20, 2007, to meet with the city leaders and press, and members of the Egyptian Community in the city. The visit is part of a series of regular visits the Ambassador pays to numerous cities in the US to not only promote awareness of Egypt, its civilization and positions on regional and international issues, but to also engage in a dialogue with the leaders of these cities and members of their communities on Middle Eastern and Egypt-US relations issues.

In Phoenix, Ambassador Fahmy met with the City Mayor, Phil Gordon, who expressed deep respect and admiration for Egypt and its ancient civilization. The two officials discussed means of enhancing bilateral cultural and Sister-City cooperation between Phoenix and some Egyptian cities such as Ismailia and others.

The Ambassador met with the Editorial Board of the Arizona Republic, a daily newspaper published in Phoenix and is the Arizona state's largest newspaper (15th highest distributing newspaper in the US). The discussion focused the current situation in the Middle East, particularly what the Arab nations are doing to reach a settlement to the long-standing Arab-Israeli conflict, how the Middle East Peace Process can move forward, and the state of affairs in Iraq. Ambassador Fahmy had dinner with fifteen members of the Egyptian community in Phoenix. During the event, the Ambassador listened to the main priorities and issues of the members, who also expressed their interest and willingness to assist the Embassy in strengthening scientific cooperation between the two countries through their academic positions in Phoenix.

Ambassador Fahmy gave a speech at the Arizona World Affairs Council, which covered regional and Egyptian domestic developments. On the regional side, Ambassador Fahmy again stressed the need for a comprehensive solution to the Palestinian issue, which he labelled as the core conflict in the Middle East. He also emphasized the need for a strong, united, stable, and peaceful Iraq in the region. He then talked about the Egyptian perspective on the global War on Terror, indicating that terrorism will only be defeated once its root causes are addressed. On the domestic side, Fahmy explained the recent changes Egypt has witnessed on the political, economic and social levels during the past several years, and stressed the Government's determination to pursue the necessary policies to further improve the living standards of the Egyptian population and continue the ongoing process of democratic reform.

Ambassador Nabil Fahmy also had breakfast with twelve members of the Arizona Chapter of the American Jewish Committee, where he laid out Egypt's view on the way forward in the Middle East, stressing the need for a just and comprehensive settlement to the Middle East Peace Process, and the need for the US Administration to help-not pressure- the Israeli Government to take more progressive steps towards the attainment of this strategic goal. Other issues such as alleged anti-Semitism in Arab and Egyptian press, in addition to the decisions adopted by the UN Human Rights Council against Israel, were also discussed.

Ambassador Nabil Fahmy is scheduled to make a number of similar visits during the fall season of 2007, including visits to Denver, Sacramento, New York, Dallas, Houston, Austin, and others.