CAIRO: Sociologists and political scientists in the country believe social policies are the solutions for sustaining economic progress in Egypt. The "National Conference on Integrated Social Policies in Egypt held under the auspices of the First Lady Suzanne Mubarak, in cooperation with the United Nations Economic and Social Council in Western Asia (ESCWA), is promising to tackle how social policies must be defined and integrated into the Egyptian popular framework. This was partially addressed in President Hosni Mubarak's re-election program campaign in 2005. The President had called for social development and provides the base of formulating an integrated social development policy. The President's support and position on such initiatives is crucial as it comes from the highest levels, explained Minister of Social Solidarity Aly El Meselhy at a press conference at Pyramisa Hotel on Feb. 5. The existing poverty of opportunity, capacity, expertise and knowledge that stagnates implementation makes this learning experience significant, Meselhy stressed. The Conference is to discuss successful global stories and experiences from the Arab world in social policies within development. James Rawley, resident representative of the United Nations Development Program believes the sharing of experiences is vital to a country like Egypt because "there are no magic formulae to formulate a social policy. "These are valuable experiences Egypt can learn from, he said. But borrowing the experiences of social development from other countries may not necessarily be a solution some Egyptians will be happy with. Meselhy addressed this challenge saying the significance of local culture and the responsibility of Egyptian policy-makers in putting together an integrated national social policy program that works for Egypt cannot be under stressed. "We are not looking for recommendations, explained Meselhy, "we are looking for priority areas. And one such agency which could act as a catalyst for Egyptian initiatives is ESCWA. It is natural to enlist ESCWA's assistance, says its Under Secretary General and Executive Secretary Mervat Tallawy, because of the organization's expertise in unifying social and economic priorities in the Arab region. A protocol of cooperation on social policies was signed between ESCWA and the Ministry of Social Solidarity at the conclusion of the conference.
