CAIRO - “Egypt is undergoing a process of transition towards democracy, which will take time. There may be pitfalls, institutional or popular differences. The process may take longer than desired and could be painful. Yet, there is no return,” the Turkish Ambassador in Cairo has told The Egyptian Gazette in an exclusive interview. Ambassador Hüseyin Avni Botsali said that the Egyptians have proven to the world that they want real change and prefer achieving their objectives peacefully. “Now both the people and political forces need to hammer out a new social contract, which will reunite different parts of society, give them protection and assurances and stabilise economy and administration. Such an understanding will definitely inspire people and give them hope. It will also carry the country forward by restoring Egypt's glory and influence in the region,” he said. “Yet, one has to understand that there is still a long way to go,” Ambassador Botsali added. “I am confident that Egypt will work hard to prevent social and political tensions from developing into irreconcilable differences,” he said, adding that Egypt is at a crossroads and the process will take several generations and much sacrifice, but there is no other way. He pointed out that Prime Minister Erdogan's visit to Egypt last month had a crucial message. Erdogan told the people and the Government: "We believe in and respect Egypt's glory, its people's choice and civilisational heritage, regional importance, leadership and ability to form and sustain a freely elected democratic government. Egypt belongs to the Egyptians. Egypt needs to be self-confident and demonstrate the resolve needed to determine its future." During Erdogan's visit, the Turkish Egyptian Intra-ministerial Co-operation Council was created to strengthen bilateral strategic dialogue. “The Council will include all Egyptian and Turkish ministers who will be in charge of implementing bilateral projects. “In the meantime, twelve agreements and memoranda of understanding were signed, covering a broad area of co-operation. And I wouldn't be surprised if more agreements followed in the coming months and years,” the Ambassador said. He also said that the Egyptian and Turkish premiers had set $5 billion as trade target for the next two years and 10 billion until 2015. “They also set the target for Turkish investments in Egypt at $5 billion,” the Ambassador added. However, Ambassador Botsali called on the Egyptian Government to remove all administrative obstacles that impede the progress of Turkish investments here. “According to my consultations with Turkish investors, 75-80 per cent of the problems are caused by a slowing down and/or ineffective functioning of the bureaucratic process in Egypt since the revolution. I believe and hope that this is temporary. Production and export activities are generally continuing without major problems. But in recent months there have been persistent delays in bank transactions and other financial operations, i.e. payments of government dues, tax returns, export incentives etc,” he explained. However, he said that he was hopeful that the situation would improve very soon through the intervention by the political authority. “As you know, this issue depends on your government's investment policies. Minister of Industry and Foreign Trade Mahmoud Eissa recently visited Turkey and met leaders and corporate sector executives. On his return, the Minister asked me to convene a consultative meeting with Turkish investors and industrialists in Egypt. Our business leaders have been heartened by the responsive and sincere attitude of Minister Eissa,” the Ambassador said. He pointed out that the Egyptian and Turkish governments were keen on bolstering bilateral tourism, cultural and education ties. “The tourism sector has priority. The Egyptian and Turkish Tourism Ministers signed a co-operation protocol in line with the understanding reached in March between Field Marshall Hussein Tantawi and President Abdullah Gul. The idea is to explore the possibility of expanding the scope of a two-country holiday package by identifying destinations aimed at a maximised use of diversity in terms of climate and tourist attractions,” he said. Turkey and Egypt agree on regional and international issues of bilateral interest and co-operate in almost all forums, he said. “I believe our co-operation will continue to grow. When Egypt completes its transition to democracy, it will rise as a strong player with a regional leadership role. We already see it in the Palestinian-Israeli prisoner exchange or Palestinian unity talks. We applaud and welcome this new dynamism. I believe and hope that the future will open new horizons of co-operation,” he concluded.
