Chair: Tomas Blanco
Director: Neta Levanon
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Committee Positions: Download [DOC]
With seventy million people, Egypt is the most populous nation in the Arab world (the next highest is Algeria with 35 million) and also the Arab world's fastest growing nation. Despite this rapid growth, the country still remains economically dependent on limited arable land and the historic Nile . Egypt 's urban population is surging but Egypt 's cities don't appear able to accommodate. The government has struggled with economic reform (unemployment is up to 25%) and massive renovation of technological and physical infrastructure.
Politically, Egypt has been one of the most cooperative Arab nations in dealing with the western world. Long considered the "gateway to the Arab world," Egypt was the first Arab nation to establish diplomatic relations with Israel after the Camp David Accords of 1978 returned the Sinai Peninsula, and Egypt also provided the third largest military force in the first US-led Persian Gulf War. The United States has made Egypt its second-largest recipient of aid, including $1.3 billion in military aid annually. Since President Hosni Mubarak and the National Democratic Party took power in 1981, Egypt has received over $50 billion in US aid.
Mubarak has a fairly moderate political stance for an Arab government. He supports the peace process between Palestine and Israel , provided that Israel pulls out of Gaza entirely. His constitution officially outlaws religious parties and he has aggressively tried to block the Muslim Brotherhood, his largest political rival. Mubarak is often accused of human rights violations and undemocratic actions that he claims are an effort to root out terrorists. However slowly, Egypt appears to be moving toward democratic reform. Mubarak, who has been in power since Anwar Sadat's assassination in 1981, pledges that elections will be held in October of 2005.