Development strategy will be effective only if the Egyptian Government, the business sector and civil society all work together to explore ways of co-operation. And there is also the need for co-ordination and stronger partnerships in the long term between business and public sectors and non-governmental organisations, to effect real change in the concepts that will promote sustainability in the State. These words were recently uttered by Egyptian Minister of State for Family and Population Moshira Khattab at the ‘Business Luncheon on Corporate Social Responsibility: Engaging the Egyptian Private Sector', organised in Cairo by the French-Egyptian Chamber of Commerce (CCFE) and the Confederation of Egyptian-European Business Associations (CEEBA). The Egyptian Government is very interested in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Last year, Minister of Investment Mahmoud Mohieddin launched the list of Egyptian indicators for social responsibility for corporations. "Egypt is the first Arab and African country and the second in the world after India to apply such indicators," she stressed. "For development to happen, the Government, business sector and NGOs must co-operate together. However, bias may prevent some of them opening up and exploring the possibilities for each party to promote the economic-social development of the State. "The business sector could help the Ministry reduce erroneous practices and contribute to positive cultural change." To this end, the Ministry will undertake a national multimedia information campaign to raise awareness about population issues and children's rights. "We need to reach to all Egyptians via television, radio and community activities, etc.," Moshira added. This programme, she explained, will benefit most of the society, giving companies greater access to the public and improving their image. "Of course, private and/or foreign investment in infrastructure is important, as well as the Public Private Partnership [PPP] model to encourage the private sector to participate in public service projects," said Mahmoud el-Kaissy, the President of the Confederation of Egyptian-European Business Associations (CEEBA). "The oldest PPP in the history is the Suez Canal project; if the private sector hadn't helped the Government, it would never have seen the light of day," he told the Egyptian Mail in an interview. CEEBA was founded in 2004 by the British Egyptian-Business Association, Club d'Affaires Franco-Egyptien (CAFE), the Camera di Commercio Italiana and the German-Arab Chamber of Industry and Commerce, to create a strong platform for pan-European dialogue. According to el-Kaissy, CEEBA aims to support and encourage co-operation among all Egyptian-European associations. There are different sorts of co-operation: Egyptian-European dialogue, trade, investment and technology, targeting third country markets. When most companies are founded, they normally think in the short term to start with. They are more concerned with profit than individuals. But this is not a good idea, as the returns are short term and they fail to construct long-term markets and opportunities, which is the essence of success in business. "This happens in the first steps of any project, as the main concern is survival. After the project begins to stabilise, the owner starts thinking of the welfare of his workers, in terms of pensions and health insurance. This Corporate Social Responsibility is a kind of repayment to society," he said. El-Kaissy added that the businesses in Egypt started as 'charities'. They help society by creating small workshops for training young girls and boys, and opening computer centres and offering young people technical training in these centres, for instance, he explained. "Some companies open development projects in Egypt without making any profit; indeed they pump their capital into these projects," he said, mentioning businessmen Naguib Sawiris and Farid Khamis. According to el-Kaissy, it's not just businessmen who create such development projects, but also businessmen's associations, like the Alexandria Business Association, a non-profit NGO, launched in 1983 to support the private sector, promote the interests of the business community, provide networking opportunities, consolidate business and social ties and present members' views to the Government. "They launch micro projects with funding of between LE1,000 and LE5,000. The risk isn't high and the benefactors get paid back. This encourages more people to support them," said el-Kaissy, the former President of CAFE, which is the most important club for economic co-operation between French and Egyptian companies. Because of the ongoing global financial crisis, which started two years ago, the United States, and some European and Asian countries are ‘savagely' sacking workers. This, according to el-Kaissy, hasn't happened in Egypt, because Egypt's economy expanded by more than 7 per cent annually for four years, helped by rising revenues from tourism and the Suez Canal and foreign direct investment. But this growth fell below 5 per cent in the last fiscal year. Despite this growth, the Egyptian man in the street is still suffering. Around 20 per cent of population in this country of 80 million live below the poverty line. "The economic growth doesn't reach all people with the same speed. Some people feel it before others. It takes time," el-Kaissy said, stressing that economic reform should have a social dimension and the media must help. "The media, unfortunately, focus more on exciting stories and problems, rather than the success stories. Public opinion in Egypt is significantly affected by this. "I feel that the near future will witness more co-operation between the whole of society. Together we will succeed," he argued. $1 = LE5.58
