One of the biggest challenges facing Egypt is the future of its economy, and the United States plans to offer assistance for the economic recovery, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said yesterday. In a speech at the US-Islamic World Forum, an event in Washington DC hosted by Qatar and the Brookings Institution, a US think tank, Clinton said that people of the Arab world “expect democracy to deliver jobs, sweep out corruption, extend opportunities that will help them and their children take full advantage of the global economy.” The US will offer Egypt $150 million in economic assistance to help with the transition to democracy, Clinton announced. Egypt is already the second largest recipient of US military and economic aid after Israel. The US Overseas Private Investment Corporation, the US government's development finance institution, will give up to $2 billion to encourage private sector growth in the Middle East and North Africa, Clinton said. Clinton also said that the US wants to expand Qualified Industrial Zones (QIZs) in Egypt, special free-trade zones from which manufactured goods can be sold tariff-free to the US market. Such QIZs will necessarily involve some Israeli cooperation. Clinton also called for a reduction in trade barriers across North Africa. The wide-ranging speech addressed the future of US relations with the Muslim world on a number of issues, including the pro-democracy uprisings in Arab countries and the status of women. Clinton also revealed that the US administration will soon renew efforts to push an Israeli-Arab peace plan. Clinton praised the uprisings against autocratic rulers across the Arab world, saying that they have “exposed myths that for too long were used to justify the status quo.” “They now see alternatives, on satellite news, on Twitter and Facebook, in Cairo and Tunis,” Clinton said of Muslim youth. “They know a better life can be within reach -- and they are now willing to reach for it.” The US secretary of state spoke of the difficulty of consolidating the pro-democracy uprisings into democratic societies. “In Cairo last month, I met with young activists who were passionate about their principles but still sorting out how to be practical about their politics,” Clinton said. A number of new political parties have been launched in Egypt since Hosni Mubarak, a long-time US ally, resigned on 11 February. Just days after Mubarak resigned, reports surfaced that the United States was preparing an aid package to help with constitutional reform, democratic development and the organization of elections. “The United States will be there as a partner, working for progress,” Clinton said at the close of her speech. “We are committed to the future of this region and we believe in the potential of its people.”
