After re-electing President Hosni Mubarak as its chairman, the eighth congress of the ruling NDP organised two days of intensive debates, before finalising its recommendations. Gamal Essam El-Din reports The ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) concluded its three-day eighth congress on Tuesday. With "A New Way of Thinking" as its slogan, the congress debated three main subjects. The first two concentrated on the party's platform and internal regulations, while the third outlined reform proposals submitted by nine committees. The nine committees, with their respective chairs, are Structural Reform (Gamal Mubarak), Party Platform (Safwat El-Sherif), Internal Regulations (Kamal El-Shazli), Education (Hussein Kamel Bahaaeddin), Economic Affairs (Youssef Boutros Ghali), Foreign Affairs (Mamdouh El- Beltagui), Youth and Political Participation (Alieddin Hilal), Women and Development (Amina El-Guindi) and Health and Population (Awad Tageddin). Following the congress's inauguration and re- election of President Hosni Mubarak on Sunday, the nine committees immediately plunged into business. The committee debates, which were mostly chaired by cabinet ministers and prominent NDP members of the People's Assembly and Shura Council, focused on basic domestic and foreign issues expected to influence development in the next five years. Prime Minister Atef Ebeid -- who made a point of attending some of the committees' meetings and answering questions raised by their members -- delivered a speech on Tuesday highlighting the government's response to the proposals and recommendations passed by these committees. Gamal Mubarak, President Hosni Mubarak's son and a prominent member of the NDP's secretariat-general, emphasised that the relationship between the government and the ruling NDP would be governed by the fact that "the government is the party's government and not vice versa". This, added Mubarak, means that in its performance and strategies, the government will be governed by the NDP's way of thinking. "The NDP is the party which formed this government because it is the party which won the people's majority of votes in parliamentary elections. This is why the government must be restricted by the party's recommendations, proposals and strategies on socio-economic and political development in Egypt." The Party Platform committee made a strong call for political and economic liberalisation. "This means that the party supports the basic values of democracy, human rights and market economics. These are the languages of the age which we found difficult to ignore," said committee chairman Safwat El- Sherif, who acknowledged that the NDP's pressing need for ideological innovation was a long time coming. "We were in need of clear, new thinking. This is why we adhere to the centrist ideology. This means that the NDP stands for moderation, rationality and liberalisation," El-Sherif said. Another committee member, Youth Minister Alieddin Hilal, said the NDP firmly stands for free enterprise and individual initiatives. "These, the NDP believes, can take the form of political parties and civil societies," said Hilal. Kamal El-Shazli, the head of the NDP's Internal Regulations committee, announced plans to devise a new, sounder system for parliamentary elections. "This system will make sure that parliamentary elections are marked by integrity and remain clear of former deformities like buying votes and thuggery," El-Shazli said. Both the Health and Education committees called for decentralisation and deregulation of the services provided by these two sectors. Education Minister and committee chair Hussein Kamel Bahaaeddin said the NDP's objective in higher education is to increase the number of students joining universities from its present rate of 30 per cent to 50 per cent. Bahaaeddin emphasised that "decentralising education services means producing graduates with capacities more responsive to the job market. It also means that governorates will be more responsible for devising their education strategies." Health Minister and committee chairman Awad Tageddin said decentralisation of health services aimed at opening the door for the private sector. "This will give greater room for the government to concentrate on improving the National Health Service (NHS), which is devoted to citizens of limited means. We also encourage foreign and domestic investors to tap into the pharmaceutical sector because this leads to better quality in this field," Tageddin said. The Foreign Affairs committee, headed by Tourism Minister Mamdouh El-Beltagui, emphasised that in terms of foreign relations, the NDP aims to strike a balance between nationalist interests and international commitments. "Nowhere is this principle clearer than in Egypt's relations with the United States of America. Egypt is keen to have excellent relations with the US but it also makes sure that these relations do not negatively affect the independence and the supremacy of its national decisions," said El- Beltagui. As the NDP adopts the "centrist ideology", El-Beltagui added, it joins international efforts aimed at fighting terrorism. "The NDP, however, makes a distinction between terrorism and national struggles aimed at gaining independence and recovering occupied territories," said El-Beltagui, who also noted that the country's geographical location makes it impossible for it to resort to isolationist tendencies. Prime Minister Atef Ebeid spent five hours at the Economic Affairs committee meeting. The committee's chairman, Foreign Trade Minister Youssef Boutros Ghali indicated that the NDP espouses market economy principles in order to achieve socio-economic development. "This means that the government has to give the private sector a greater role in formulating and implementing the economic policies of Egypt," Ghali said. For his part, Prime Minister Atef Ebeid indicated that giving the private sector a greater role must not mean that the government leave citizens with limited incomes prey to the ravages of market economics. Committee member Mahmoud Mohieddin said the NDP believes in the government's social role in cushioning poorer classes from the ravages of liberalisation. "The NDP's adoption of market economy principles means that the government and the party should cooperate together in devising policies aimed at encouraging free competition and a more efficient use of resources," he said. In the Youth and Political Participation committee, Gamal Mubarak explained that the NDP strongly believes that young people must be given greater room and opportunities in running the affairs of Egypt. "This will require that the government take note of this belief in its employment policies, and in preparing or amending a number of existing legislation," Mubarak said. Mrs Suzanne Mubarak personally attended the Women and Development committee meeting. Minister of Social Affairs Amina El-Guindi, the committee's chairwoman, said the NDP focuses on enhancing the participation of women in political life. "We also ask all political parties and civil society organisations to follow the NDP's lead in order to emphasise that there is no discrimination against women in Egypt." Several committee members urged that women be appointed as court judges. Mahmoud Zaqzouq, the minister of religious endowments, explained that Islamic Shari'a law does not stand against this request, while Nadia Makram Ebeid, a former minister of state for environmental affairs, said "we hope we will celebrate the appointment of the first female court judge in Egypt next year." 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