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US State Department's Background Notes


Background Notes Yemen, January 2002

PROFILE

OFFICIAL NAME
Republic of Yemen

Geography
Area 527,970 sq. km. (203,796 sq. mi.) about the size of California and
Pennsylvania combined.
Cities CapitalSanaa. Other citiesAden, Taiz, Hodeida, and alMukalla.
Terrain Mountainous interior bordered by desert with a flat and sandy
coastal plain.
Climate Temperate in the mountainous regions in the western part of the
country, extremely hot with minimal rainfall in the remainder of the
country. Humid on the coast.

People
Nationality Noun and adjectiveYemeni(s).
Population (2001 est.) 18 million.
Annual growth rate 3.38%.
Ethnic group Predominantly Arab.
Religions Islam, small numbers of Jews, Christians, and Hindus.
Language Arabic.
Education Attendance (ages 615, 1998 est.)57.4% total, including 79.4%
of males, 33.9% of females. Literacy (1998 est.)45%.
Health Infant mortality rate68/1,000 live births. Life expectancy60
yrs.
Work force (by sector) Agriculture53% public services17%
manufacturing4% construction7%.
Work force (percentage of total population) 25%.

Government
Type Republic unification (of former south and north Yemen) May 22, 1990.
Constitution Adopted May 21, 1990 and ratified May 1991.
Branches ExecutivePrime Minister with Cabinet. Legislativebicameral
legislature w/ 111seat Shura Council and 301seat House of Representatives.
Judicialthe constitution calls for an independent judiciary. The former
northern and southern legal codes have been unified. The legal system
includes separate commercial courts and a Supreme Court based in Sanaa.
Administrative subdivisions 18 governorates subdivided into districts.
Political parties General People's Congress (GPC), Yemeni Grouping for
Reform (Islaah), Yemeni Socialist Party (YSP), Baathist parties, Nasserist
parties, and Muslim fundamentalist parties.
Suffrage Universal over 18.
National holiday May 22 (Unity Day).
Flag Three horizontal bandsred, white, and black.

Economy
GDP (2000 est.) $14.4 billion.
Per capita GDP (2000 est.) $820.
Natural resources Oil, natural gas, fish, rock salt, minor deposits of coal
and copper.
Agriculture (est. 20% of GDP) Productsqat (a shrub containing a natural
amphetamine), coffee, cotton, fruits, vegetables, cereals, livestock and
poultry, hides, skins, tobacco, honey. Arable land (est )5%.
Industry (est. 42% of GDP) Typespetroleum refining, mining, food
processing, building materials.
Trade (2000 est.) Exports$4.2 billion crude petroleum, refined oil
products, hides, fish, fruits, vegetables, cotton, coffee,
biscuits, plastic pipes. Major marketsThailand, China, South Korea, Japan.
Imports$2.7 billion cereals, feed grains, foodstuffs, machinery,
petroleum products, transportation equipment. Major suppliersJapan, Saudi
Arabia, Australia, EU countries, China, Russia and other New Independent
States, United States.
Exchange rate (Nov. 2001) Officialfluctuates between 125173 rials per
U.S.$1 and floats based on an average of foreign currencies. Marketsince
floating the dollar, market rate usually reflects the official rate of
exchange.

PEOPLE
Unlike other people of the Arabian Peninsula who have historically been
nomads or seminomads, Yemenis are almost entirely sedentary and live in
small villages and towns scattered throughout the highlands and coastal
regions.

Yemenis are divided into two principal Islamic religious groups the Zaidi
sect of the Shi'a, found in the north and northwest, and the Shafa'i school
of Sunni Muslims, found in the south and southeast. Yemenis are mainly of
Semitic origin, although African strains are present among inhabitants of
the coastal region. Arabic is the official language, although English is
increasingly understood in major cities. In the Mahra area (the extreme
east), several nonArabic languages are spoken. When the former states of
north and south Yemen were established, most resident minority groups
departed.

HISTORY
Yemen was one of the oldest centers of civilization in the Near East.
Between the 12th century BC and the 6th century AD, it was part of the
Minaean, Sabaean, and Himyarite kingdoms, which controlled the lucrative
spice trade, and later came under Ethiopian and
Persian rule. In the 7th century, Islamic caliphs began to exert control
over the area. After this caliphate broke up, the former north Yemen came
under control of Imams of various dynasties usually of the Zaidi sect, who
established a theocratic political structure that survived until modern
times. (Imam is a religious term. The Shiites apply it to the prophet
Muhammad's soninlaw Ali, his sons Hasan and Hussein, and subsequent lineal
descendants, whom they consider to have been divinely ordained unclassified
successors of the prophet.)

Egyptian Sunni caliphs occupied much of north Yemen throughout the 11th
century. By the 16th century and again in the 19th century, north Yemen was
part of the Ottoman empire, and in some periods its Imams exerted suzerainty
over south Yemen.

Former North Yemen
Ottoman government control was largely confined to cities with the Imam's
suzerainty over tribal areas formally recognized. Turkish forces withdrew in
1918, and Imam Yahya strengthened his control over north Yemen. Yemen became
a member of the Arab league in 1945 and the United Nations in 1947.

Imam Yahya died during an unsuccessful coup attempt in 1948 and was
succeeded by his son Ahmad, who ruled until his death in September 1962.
Imam Ahmad's reign was marked by growing repression, renewed friction with
the United Kingdom over the British presence in the south, and growing
pressures to support the Arab nationalist objectives of Egyptian President
Gamal Abdul Nasser.

Shortly after assuming power in 1962, Ahmad's son, Badr, was deposed by
revolutionary forces which took control of Sanaa and created the Yemen Arab
Republic (YAR). Egypt assisted the YAR with troops and supplies to combat
forces loyal to the Imamate. Saudi Arabia and Jordan supported Badr's
royalist forces to oppose the newly formed republic. Conflict continued
periodically until 1967 when Egyptian troops were withdrawn. By 1968,
following a final royalist siege of Sanaa, most of the opposing leaders
reached a reconciliation Saudi Arabia recognized the Republic in 1970.

Former South Yemen
British influence increased in the south and eastern portion of Yemen after
the British captured the port of Aden in 1839. It was ruled as part of
British India until 1937, when Aden was made a crown colony with the
remaining land designated as east Aden and west Aden protectorates. By 1965,
most of the tribal states within the protectorates and the Aden colony
proper had joined to form the Britishsponsored federation of south Arabia.

In 1965, two rival nationalist groupsthe Front for the Liberation of
Occupied South Yemen (FLOSY) and the National Liberation Front (NLF)turned
to terrorism in their struggle to control the country. In 1967, in the face
of uncontrollable violence, British troops began withdrawing, federation
rule collapsed, and NLF elements took control after eliminating their FLOSY
rivals. South Arabia, including Aden, was declared independent on November
30, 1967, and was renamed the People's Republic of South Yemen. In June
1969, a radical wing of the Marxist NLF gained power and changed the
country's name on December 1, 1970, to the People's Democratic Republic of
Yemen (PDRY). In the PDRY, all political parties were amalgamated into the
Yemeni Socialist Party (YSP), which became the only legal party. The PDRY
established close ties with the Soviet Union, China, Cuba, and radical
Palestinians.

Republic of Yemen
In 1972, the governments of the PDRY and the YAR declared that they approved
a future union. However, little progress was made toward unification, and
relations were often strained. In 1979, simmering tensions led to fighting,
which was only resolved after Arab League mediation. The goal of unity was
reaffirmed by the northern and southern heads of state during a summit
meeting in Kuwait in March 1979. However, that same year the PDRY began
sponsoring an insurgency against the YAR. In April 1980, PDRY President
Abdul Fattah Ismail resigned and went into exile. His successor, Ali Nasir
Muhammad, took a less interventionist stance toward both the YAR and
neighboring Oman. On January 13, 1986, a violent struggle began in Aden
between Ali Nasir Muhammad and the returned Abdul Fattah Ismail and their
supporters. Fighting lasted for more than a month and resulted in thousands
of casualties, Ali Nasir's ouster, and Ismail's death. Some 60,000 persons,
including Ali Nasir and his supporters, fled to the YAR.

In May 1988, the YAR and PDRY governments came to an understanding that
considerably reduced tensions including agreement to renew discussions
concerning unification, to establish a joint oil exploration area along
their undefined border, to demilitarize the border, and to allow Yemenis
unrestricted border passage on the basis of only a national identification
card.

In November 1989, the leaders of the YAR (Ali Abdallah Salih) and the PDRY
(Ali Salim AlBidh) agreed on a draft unity constitution originally drawn up
in 1981. The Republic of Yemen (ROY) was declared on May 22, 1990. Ali
Abdallah Salih became President, and Ali Salim AlBidh became Vice
President.

A 30month transitional period for completing the unification of the two
political and economic systems was set. A presidential council was jointly
elected by the 26member YAR advisory council and the 17member PDRY
presidium. The presidential council appointed a Prime Minister, who formed a
Cabinet. There was also a 301seat provisional unified Parliament,
consisting of 159 members from the north, 111 members from the south, and 31
independent members appointed by the chairman of the council.

A unity constitution was agreed upon in May 1990 and ratified by the
populace in May 1991. It affirmed Yemen's commitment to free elections, a
multiparty political system, the right to own private property, equality
under the law, and respect of basic human rights. Parliamentary elections
were held on April 27, 1993. International groups assisted in the
organization of the elections and observed actual balloting. The resulting
Parliament included 143 GPC, 69 YSP, 63 Islaah (Yemeni grouping for reform,
a party
composed of various tribal and religious groups), 6 Baathis, 3 Nasserists, 2
Al Haq, and 15 independents. The head of Islaah, Paramount Hashid Sheik
Abdallah Bin Husayn AlAhmar, is the speaker of Parliament.

Islaah was invited into the ruling coalition, and the presidential council
was altered to include one Islaah member. Conflicts within the coalition
resulted in the selfimposed exile of Vice President Ali Salim AlBidh to
Aden beginning in August 1993 and a deterioration in the general security
situation as political rivals settled scores and tribal elements took
advantage of the unsettled situation.

Haydar Abu Bakr AlAttas (former southern Prime Minister) continued to serve
as the ROY Prime Minister, but his government was ineffective due to
political infighting. Continuous negotiations between northern and southern
leaders resulted in the signing of the document of pledge and accord in
Amman, Jordan on February 20, 1994. Despite
this, clashes intensified until civil war broke out in early May 1994.

Almost all of the actual fighting in the 1994 civil war occurred in the
southern part of the country despite air and missile attacks against cities
and major installations in the north. Southerners sought support from
neighboring states and received billions of dollars of equipment and
financial assistance. The United States strongly supported Yemeni unity, but
repeatedly called for a ceasefire and a return to the negotiating table.
Various attempts, including by a UN special envoy, were unsuccessful to
effect a ceasefire.
Southern leaders declared secession and the establishment of the Democratic
Republic of Yemen (DRY) on May 21, 1994, but the DRY was not recognized by
the international community. Ali Nasir Muhammad supporters greatly assisted
military operations against the secessionists and Aden was captured on July
7, 1994. Other resistance quickly collapsed and thousands of southern
leaders and military went into exile.

Early during the fighting, President Ali Abdallah Salih announced a general
amnesty which applied to everyone except a list of 16 persons. Most
southerners returned to Yemen after a short exile.

An armed opposition was announced from Saudi Arabia, but no significant
incidents within Yemen materialized. The government prepared legal cases
against four southern leadersAli Salim Al Bidh, HaydarAbu Bakr AlAttas,
Abd AlRahman Ali AlJifri, and Salih MunassarAlSiyalifor
misappropriation of official funds. Others on the list of 16 were told
informally they could return to take advantageof the amnesty, but most
remained outside Yemen. Although many of Ali Nasir Muhammad's followers were
appointed to senior governmental positions (including Vice President, Chief
of Staff, and Governor of Aden), Ali Nasir Muhammad himself remained abroad
in Syria.

In the aftermath of the civil war, YSP leaders within Yemen reorganized the
party and elected a new politburo in July 1994. However, the party remained
disheartened and without its former influence. Islaah held a party
convention in September 1994. The GPC did the same in June 1995.

In 1994, amendments to the unity constitution eliminated the presidential
council. President Ali Abdallah Salih was elected by Parliament on October
1, 1994 to a 5year term. The constitution provides that henceforth the
President will be elected by popular vote from at least two candidates
selected by the legislature. Yemen held its first direct presidential
elections in September 1999, electing President Ali Abdallah Salih to a
5year term in what were generally considered free and fair elections.
Yemen held its second multiparty parliamentary elections in April 1997.
Constitutional amendments adopted in the summer of 2000 extended the
presidential term by 2 years, thus moving the next presidential elections to
2006. The amendments also extended the parliamentary term of office to a
6year term, thus moving elections for these seats to 2003. On February 20,
2001, a new constitutional amendment created a bicameral legislature
consisting of a Shura Council (111 seats members appointed by the
president) and a House of Representatives (301 seats members elected by
popular vote).

Principal Government Officials
PresidentAli Abdallah Salih
Vice PresidentAbd AlRab Mansur Hadi
Prime MinisterAbd alQadir Ba Jamal
Deputy Prime MinisterAlawi Salah alSalami
Minister of Foreign AffairsAbu Bakr alQurbi
Minister of Planning and DevelopmentAhmad Muhammad Abdallah alSufan
Minister of Industry and TradeAbd alRahman alUthman
Minister of Oil and Mineral ResourcesDr. Rashid Ba Rabba
Ambassador to the United StatesAbd alWahab alHajri
Ambassador to the United NationsAbdallah alAshtal

The Republic of Yemen maintains an embassy in the United States at 2600
Virginia Avenue NW, Suite 705, Washington, DC 20037 (tel 2029654760).

ECONOMY
At unification, both the YAR and the PDRY were struggling underdeveloped
economies. In the north, disruptions of civil war (196270) and frequent
periods of drought had dealt severe blows to a previously prosperous
agricultural sector. Coffee production, formerly the north's main export and
principal form of foreign exchange, declined as the cultivation of qat
increased. Low domestic industrial output and a lack of raw materials made
the YAR dependent on a wide variety of imports.

Remittances from Yemenis working abroad and foreign aid paid for perennial
trade deficits. Substantial Yemeni communities exist in many countries of
the world, including Yemen's immediate neighbors on the Arabian Peninsula,
Indonesia, India, East Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Beginning in the mid1950s, the Soviet Union and China provided largescale
assistance to the YAR. This aid included funding of substantial construction
projects, scholarships, and considerable military assistance.

In the south, preindependence economic activity was overwhelmingly
concentrated in the port city of Aden. The seaborne transit trade which the
port relied upon collapsed with the closure of the Suez Canal and Britain's
withdrawal from Aden in 1967. Only extensive Soviet aid, remittances from
south Yemenis working abroad, and revenues from the Aden refinery (built in
the 1950s) kept the PDRY's centrally planned Marxist economy afloat. With
the dissolution of the Soviet Union and a cessation of Soviet aid, the
south's economy basically collapsed.

Since unification, the government has worked to integrate two relatively
disparate economic systems. However, severe shocks, including the return in
1990 of approximately 850,000 Yemenis from the Gulf states, a subsequent
major reduction of aid flows, and internal political disputes culminating in
the 1994 civil war hampered economic growth.

Since the conclusion of the war, the government entered into agreement with
the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to institute an extremely successful
structural adjustment program. Phase one of the IMF program included major
financial and monetary reforms, including floating the currency, reducing
the budget deficit, and cutting subsidies. Phase two will address
structural issues such as civil service reform. The World Bank also is
active in Yemen, providing an $80million loan in 1996. Yemen has received
debt relief from the Paris Club. Some military equipment is still purchased
from former East bloc states and China, but on a cash basis.

Following a minor discovery in 1982 in the south, an American company found
an oil basin near Marib in 1984. A total of 170,000 barrels per day were
produced there in 1995. A small oil refinery began operations near Marib in
1986. A Soviet discovery in the southern governorate of Shabwa has proven
only marginally successful even when taken over by a different group. A
Western consortium began exporting oil from Masila in the Hadramaut in 1993,
and production there reached 420,000 barrels per day in 1999. More than a
dozen other companies have been unsuccessful in finding commercial
quantities of oil. There are new finds in the Jannah (formerly known as the
Joint Oil Exploration Area) and east Shabwah blocks. Yemen's oil exports in
1995 earned about
$1 billion.

Marib oil contains associated natural gas. Proven reserves of 1013 trillion
cubic feet could sustain a liquid natural gas (LNG) export project. A
longterm prospect for the petroleum industry in Yemen is a proposed
liquefied natural gas project (Yemen LNG), which plans to process and export
Yemen's 17 trillion cubic feet of proven associated and natural gas
reserves. In September 1995, the Yemeni Government signed an agreement that
designated Total of France to be the lead company for an LNG project, and,
in January 1997, agreed to include Hunt Oil, Exxon, and Yukong of South
Korea as partners in the project (YEPC). The project envisions a $3.5
billion investment over 25 years, producing approximately 3.1 million tons
of LNG annually. A BechtelTechnip joint venture also conducted a
preliminary engineering study for LNG production/development.

FOREIGN RELATIONS
The geography and ruling Imams of north Yemen kept the country isolated from
foreign influence before 1962. The country's relations with Saudi Arabia
were defined by the Taif Agreement of 1934 which delineated the northernmost
part of the border between the two kingdoms and set the framework for
commercial and other intercourse. The Taif Agreement has been renewed
periodically in 20year increments, and its validity was reaffirmed in 1995.
Relations with the British colonial authorities in Aden and the south were
usually tense.

The Soviet and Chinese Aid Missions established in 1958 and 1959 were the
first important nonMuslim presence in north Yemen. Following the September
1962 revolution, the Yemen Arab Republic became closely allied with and
heavily dependent upon Egypt. Saudi Arabia aided the royalists in their
attempt to defeat the Republicans
and did not recognize the Yemen Arab Republic until 1970. Subsequently,
Saudi Arabia provided Yemen substantial budgetary and project support. At
the same time, Saudi Arabia maintained direct contact with Yemeni tribes,
which sometimes strained its official relations with the Yemeni Government.
Hundreds of thousands of Yemenis found
employment in Saudi Arabia during the late 1970s and 1980s.

In February 1989, north Yemen joined Iraq, Jordan, and Egypt informing the
Arab Cooperation Council (ACC), an organization created partly in response
to the founding of the Gulf Cooperation Council, and intended to foster
closer economic cooperation and integration among its members. After
unification, the Republic of Yemen was accepted as a member of the ACC in
place of its YAR predecessor. In the wake of the Gulf crisis, the ACC has
remained inactive.

British authorities left southern Yemen in November 1967 in the wake of an
intense terrorist campaign. The people's democratic Republic of Yemen, the
successor to British colonial rule, had diplomatic relations with many
nations, but its major links were
with the Soviet Union and other Marxist countries. Relations between it and
the conservative Arab states of the Arabian Peninsula were strained. There
were military clashes with Saudi Arabia in 1969 and 1973, and the PDRY
provided active support for the DHOFAR rebellion against the Sultanate of
Oman. The PDRY was the only
Arab state to vote against admitting new Arab states from the Gulf area to
the United Nations and the Arab League. The PDRY provided sanctuary and
material support to various international terrorist groups.

Yemen is a member of the United Nations, the Arab League, and the
organization of the Islamic conference. Yemen participates in the nonaligned
movement. The Republic of Yemen accepted responsibility for all treaties and
debts of its predecessors, the YAR and the PDRY. Yemen has acceded to the
nuclear nonproliferation treaty. The Gulf crisis dramatically affected
Yemen's foreign relations. As a member of the UN Security Council (UNSC) for
1990 and 1991,Yemen abstained on a number of UNSC resolutions concerning
Iraq and Kuwait and voted against the "use of force resolution."
Western and Gulf Arab states reacted by curtailing or canceling aid programs
and diplomatic contacts. At least 850,000 Yemenis returned from Saudi Arabia
and the Gulf.

Subsequent to the liberation of Kuwait, Yemen continued to maintain
highlevel contacts with Iraq. This hampered its efforts to rejoin the Arab
mainstream and to mend fences with its immediate neighbors. In 1993, Yemen
launched an unsuccessful diplomatic offensive to restore relations with its
Gulf neighbors. Some of its aggrieved neighbors actively aided the south
during the 1994 civil war. Since the end of that conflict, tangible progress
has been made on the diplomatic front in restoring normal relations with
Yemen's neighbors. The OmaniYemeni border has been officially demarcated.
In the summer of 2000, Yemen and Saudi Arabia signed an International Border
Treaty settling a 50yearold dispute over the location of the border
between the two countries. Yemen settled its dispute with Eritrea over the
Hanish Islands in 1998.

U.S.YEMEN RELATIONS
The United States established diplomatic relations with the Imamate in 1946.
A resident legation, later elevated to embassy status, was opened in Taiz
(the capital at the time) on March 16, 1959and moved to Sanaa in 1966. The
United States was one of the first
countries to recognize the Yemen Arab Republic, doing so on December19,
1962. A major U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) program
constructed the MochaTaizSanaa highway and the Kennedy memorial water
project in Taiz, as well as many smaller projects. On June 6, 1967, the YAR,
under Egyptian influence, broke diplomatic relations with the United States
in the wake of the ArabIsraeli conflict of that year. Relations were
restored following a visit to Sanaa by Secretary of State William P. Rogers
in July 1972, and a new USAID agreement was concluded in 1973.

During a 1979 border conflict between the Yemen Arab Republic and the
People's Democratic Republic of Yemen, the United States cooperated with
Saudi Arabia to greatly expand the security assistance program to the YAR by
providing F5 aircraft, tanks, vehicles and training. George Bush, while
Vice President, visited in April
1986, and President Ali Abdallah Salih visited the United States in January
1990. The United States had a $42 million USAID program in 1990. From 1973
to 1990, the United States provided the YAR with assistance in the
agriculture, education, health and water
sectors. Many Yemenis were sent on U.S. Government scholarships to study in
the region and in the United States. There was a Peace Corps program with
about 50 volunteers. The U.S. Information Service operates an
Englishlanguage institute in Sanaa.

On December 7, 1967, the United States recognized the People's Democratic
Republic of Yemen and elevated its Consulate General in Aden to embassy
status. However, relations were strained. The PDRY was placed on the list of
nations that support terrorism.
On October 24, 1969, south Yemen formally broke diplomatic relations with
the United States. The United States and the PDRY reestablished diplomatic
relations on April 30, 1990, only 3 weeks before the announcement of
unification. However, the embassy in Aden, which closed in 1969, was never
reopened, and the PDRY as a political entity no longer exists.

As a result of Yemen's actions in the Security Council following the Iraqi
invasion of Kuwait, the United States drastically reduced its presence in
Yemen including canceling all military cooperation, nonhumanitarian
assistance, and the Peace Corps program. USAID levels dropped in FY1991 to
$2.9 million, but food assistance through
the PL 480 program continued through 1994. Resumption of U.S. Government
food assistance will depend in large part on ongoing negotiations regarding
outstanding arrearages. The United States was actively involved in and
strongly supportive of the 1993 parliamentary elections and continues
working to strengthen Yemen's democratic institutions. The United States
supported a unified Yemen during the 1994 civil war. The USAID program,
focused in the health field, had slowly increased to $8.5 million in FY
1995, but ended in FY 2000.

Defense relations between Yemen and the U.S. are improving with the recent
resumption of International Military Education and Training assistance and
the commercial transfer of some military spare parts.

Currently, Yemen is an important partner in the campaign against terrorism,
providing assistance in the military, diplomatic, and financial arenas. In
late November 2001, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh visited Washington
to strengthen U.S.Yemen relations at this crucial time.

Principal U.S. Officials
AmbassadorEdmund J. Hull
Deputy Chief of MissionBradford Hanson

The address of the U.S. embassy in Yemen is P.O. Box 22347, Sanaa, Republic
of Yemen.

end of document

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]]> http://www.RealAdventures.com/listings/1024739_Egypt-Background-Notes http://www.RealAdventures.com/listings/1024739_Egypt-Background-Notes Official Info Egypt Mon, 14 Jan 2002 00:01:00 US State Department's Background Notes -
US State Department's Background Notes


U.S. Department of State, December 2001

Background Note Egypt

PROFILE

OFFICIAL NAME

Arab Republic of Egypt

Geography
Area 1,001,450 sq. km (386,000 sq. mi.) approximately equal to Texas and
New Mexico combined.
Cities CapitalCairo (pop. estimated at 16 million). Other cities
Alexandria (6 million), Aswan, Asyut, Port Said, Suez, Ismailia.
Terrain Desert, except Nile valley and delta.
Climate Dry, hot summers moderate winters.

People
Nationality Noun and adjectiveEgyptian(s).
Population (2000) 68 million.
Annual growth rate (1999) 1.8%.
Ethnic groups Egyptian, Bedouin Arab, Nubian.
Religions Sunni Muslim 90%, Coptic Christian.
Languages Arabic (official), English, French.
Education Years compulsoryages 615. Literacytotal adult 55.2%, male
66.6%, female 43.6%(19992000 est.).
Health Infant mortality rate (1999)41/1,000. Life expectancy (1999)65.3
yrs. male, 68.5 yrs. female.

Government
Type Republic.
Independence 1922.
Constitution 1971.
Branches Executivepresident, prime minister, cabinet.
LegislativePeople's Assembly (444 elected and 10 presidentially appointed
members) and Shura (consultative) Council (176 elected members, 88
presidentially appointed). JudicialSupreme Constitutional Court.
Administrative subdivisions 26 governorates.
Principal political parties National Democratic Party (ruling). Principal
opposition partiesWafd Party, Liberal Party, National Progressive
Unionist Grouping (Tagammau), and Nasserite Party. Suffrage Universal at
18.

Economy
GDP (FY 19992000) $92.39 billion.
Annual growth rate (19992000) 4%.
Per capita GDP (19992000) $1,420.
Natural resources Petroleum and natural gas, iron ore, phosphates,
manganese, limestone, gypsum, talc, asbestos, lead, zinc.
Agriculture Productscotton, rice, onions, beans, citrus fruits, wheat,
corn, barley, sugar.
Industry Typesfood processing, textiles, chemicals, petrochemicals,
construction, light manufacturing, iron and steel products, aluminum,
cement, military equipment.
Trade (FY 19992000) Exports$6.4 billion petroleum, clothing and
textiles, cotton, manufactured goods. Major marketsE.U., U.S., Middle
East, Japan. Imports$17.86 billion machinery and transport equipment,
petroleum products, livestock, food and beverages, paper and wood products,
chemicals. Major suppliersU.S., E.U., Japan.

PEOPLE AND HISTORY
Egypt is the most populous country in the Arab world and the secondmost
populous on the African Continent. Nearly 100% of the country's 68 million
people live in Cairo and Alexandria elsewhere on the banks of the Nile in
the Nile delta, which fans out north of Cairo and along the Suez Canal.
These regions are among the world's most densely populated, containing an
average of over 3,820 persons per square mile (1,540 per sq. km.), as
compared to 181 persons per sq. mi. for the country as a whole.

Small communities spread throughout the desert regions of Egypt are
clustered around oases and historic trade and transportation routes. The
government has tried with mixed success to encourage migration to newly
irrigated land reclaimed from the desert. However, the proportion of the
population living in rural areas has continued to decrease as people move to
the cities in search of employment and a higher standard of living.

The Egyptians are a fairly homogeneous people of Hamitic origin.
Mediterranean and Arab influences appear in the north, and there is some
mixing in the south with the Nubians of northern Sudan. Ethnic minorities
include a small number of Bedouin Arab nomads in the eastern and western
deserts and in the Sinai, as well as some 50,000100,000 Nubians clustered
along the Nile in Upper (southern) Egypt.

The literacy rate is about 55% of the adult population. Education is free
through university and compulsory from ages six through 15. Rates for
primary and secondary education have strengthened in recent years.
Ninetythree percent of children enter primary school and about onequarter
drop out after the sixth year in 199495, 87% entered primary school and
about half dropped out after the sixth year. There are 20,000 primary and
secondary schools with some 10 million students, 13 major universities with
more than 500,000 students, and 67 teacher colleges. Major universities
include Cairo University (100,000 students), Alexandria University, and the
1,000yearold AlAzhar University, one of the world's major centers of
Islamic learning.

Egypt's vast and rich literature constitutes an important cultural element
in the life of the country and in the Arab world as a whole. Egyptian
novelists and poets were among the first to experiment with modern styles of
Arabic literature, and the forms they developed have been widely imitated.
Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz was the first Arab to win the Nobel prize
for literature. Egyptian books and films are available throughout the Middle
East.

Egypt has endured as a unified state for more than 5,000 years, and
archeological evidence indicates that a developed Egyptian society has
existed for much longer. Egyptians take pride in their "pharaonic heritage"
and in their descent from what they consider mankind's earliest
civilization. The Arabic word for Egypt is Misr, which originally connoted
"civilization" or "metropolis."

Archeological findings show that primitive tribes lived along the Nile long
before the dynastic history of the pharaohs began. By 6000 B.C., organized
agriculture had appeared.

In about 3100 B.C., Egypt was united under a ruler known as Mena, or Menes,
who inaugurated the 30 pharaonic dynasties into which Egypt's ancient
history is dividedthe Old and the Middle Kingdoms and the New Empire. The
pyramids at Giza (near Cairo), which were built in the fourth dynasty,
testify to the power of the pharaonic religion and state. The Great Pyramid,
the tomb of Pharaoh Khufu (also known as Cheops), is the only surviving
monument of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Ancient Egypt reached
the peak of its power, wealth, and territorial extent in the period called
the New Empire (15671085 B.C.).

Persian, Greek, Roman, and Arab Conquerors
In 525 B.C., Cambyses, the son of Cyrus the Great, led a Persian invasion
force that dethroned the last pharaoh of the 26th Dynasty. The country
remained a Persian province until conquered by Alexander the Great in 322
BC, ushering in Ptolemeic rule Egypt that lasted for nearly 700 years.

Following a brief Persian reconquest, Egypt was invaded and conquered by
Arab forces in 642. A process of Arabization and Islamization ensued.
Although a Coptic Christian minority remainedand remains today,
constituting about 10% of the populationthe Arab language inexorably
supplanted the indigenous Coptic tongue. For the next 1,300 years, a
succession of Arab, Mameluke, and Ottoman caliphs, beys, and sultans ruled
the country.

European Influence
The Ottoman Turks controlled Egypt from 1517 until 1882, except for a brief
period of French rule under Napoleon Bonaparte. In 1805, Mohammed Ali,
commander of an Albanian contingent of Ottoman troops, was appointed Pasha,
founding the dynasty that ruled Egypt until his greatgreat grandson, Farouk
I, was overthrown in 1952. Mohammed Ali the Great ruled Egypt until 1848,
writing the first chapter in the modern history of Egypt. The growth of
modern urban Cairo began in the reign of Ismail (186379). Eager to
Westernize the capital, he ordered the construction of a Europeanstyle city
to the west of the medieval core. The Suez Canal was completed in his reign
in 1869, and its completion was celebrated by many events, including the
commissioning of Verdi's "Aida" for the new opera house and the building of
great palaces such as the Omar Khayyam (originally constructed to entertain
the French Empress Eugenie, which is now the central section of the Cairo
Marriott Hotel).

In 1882, British expeditionary forces crushed a revolt against the Ottoman
rulers, marking the beginning of British occupation and the virtual
inclusion of Egypt within the British Empire. In deference to growing
nationalism, the U.K. unilaterally declared Egyptian independence in 1922.
British influence, however, continued to dominate Egypt's political life and
fostered fiscal, administrative, and governmental reforms.

In the pre1952 revolution period, three political forces competed with one
another the Wafd, a broadly based nationalist political organization
strongly opposed to British influence King Fuad, whom the British had
installed during World War II and the British themselves, who were
determined to maintain control over the Canal. Other political forces
emerging in this period included the communist party (1925) and the Muslim
Brotherhood (1928), which eventually became a potent political and religious
force.

During World War II, British troops used Egypt as a base for Allied
operations throughout the region. British troops were withdrawn to the Suez
Canal area in 1947, but nationalist, antiBritish feelings continued to grow
after the war. On July 2223, 1952, a group of disaffected army officers
(the "free officers") led by Lt. Col. Gamal Abdel Nasser overthrew King
Farouk, whom the military blamed for Egypt's poor performance in the 1948
war with Israel. Following a brief experiment with civilian rule, they
abrogated the 1923 constitution and declared Egypt a republic on June 19,
1953. Nasser evolved into a charismatic leader, not only of Egypt but of the
Arab world, promoting and implementing "Arab socialism."

Nasser helped establish the Nonaligned Movement of developing countries in
September 1961, and continued to be a leading force in the movement until
his death in 1970. When the United States held up military sales in
reaction to Egyptian neutrality visavis Moscow, Nasser concluded an arms
deal with Czechoslovakia in September 1955.

When the U.S. and the World Bank withdrew their offer to help finance the
Aswan High Dam in mid1956, Nasser nationalized the privately owned Suez
Canal Company. The crisis that followed, exacerbated by growing tensions
with Israel over guerrilla attacks from Gaza and Israeli reprisals, resulted
in the invasion of Egypt that October by France, Britain, and Israel.

Nasser's domestic policies were arbitrary and frequently oppressive, yet
generally popular. All opposition was stamped out, and opponents of the
regime frequently were imprisoned without trial. Nasser's foreign and
military policies helped provoke the Israeli attack of June 1967 that
virtually destroyed Egypt's armed forces along with those of Jordan and
Syria. Israel also occupied the Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza Strip, the West
Bank, and the Golan Heights. Nasser, nonetheless, was revered by the masses
in Egypt and elsewhere in the Arab world until his death in 1970.

After Nasser's death, another of the original "free officers," Vice
President Anwar elSadat, was elected President. In 1971, Sadat concluded a
treaty of friendship with the Soviet Union but, a year later, ordered Soviet
advisers to leave. In 1973, he launched the October war with Israel, in
which Egypt's armed forces achieved initial successes but were defeated in
Israeli counterattacks.

Camp David and the Peace Process
In a momentous change from the Nasser era, President Sadat shifted Egypt
from a policy of confrontation with Israel to one of peaceful accommodation
through negotiations. Following the Sinai Disengagement Agreements of 1974
and 1975, Sadat created a fresh opening for progress by his dramatic visit
to Jerusalem in November 1977. This led to President Jimmy Carter's
invitation to President Sadat and Prime Minister Begin to join him in
trilateral negotiations at Camp David.

The outcome was the historic Camp David accords, signed by Egypt and Israel
and witnessed by the U.S. on September 17, 1978. The accords led to the
March 26, 1979, signing of the EgyptIsrael peace treaty, by which Egypt
regained control of the Sinai in May 1982. Throughout this period,
U.S.Egyptian relations steadily improved, but Sadat's willingness to break
ranks by making peace with Israel earned him the enmity of most other Arab
states.

Domestic Change
Sadat introduced greater political freedom and a new economic policy, the
most important aspect of which was the infitah or "open door." This relaxed
government controls over the economy and encouraged private investment.
Sadat dismantled much of the existing political machine and brought to trial
a number of former government officials accused of criminal excesses during
the Nasser era.

Liberalization also included the reinstitution of due process and the legal
banning of torture. Sadat tried to expand participation in the political
process in the mid1970s but later abandoned this effort. In the last years
of his life, Egypt was racked by violence arising from discontent with
Sadat's rule and sectarian tensions, and it experienced a renewed measure of
repression.

>From Sadat to Mubarak
On October 6, 1981, President Sadat was assassinated by Islamic extremists.
Hosni Mubarak, Vice President since 1975 and air force commander during the
October 1973 war, was elected President later that month. He was
subsequently confirmed by popular referendum for three more 6year terms,
most recently in September 1999. Mubarak has maintained Egypt's commitment
to the Camp David peace process, while at the same time reestablishing
Egypt's position as an Arab leader. Egypt was readmitted to the Arab League
in 1989. Egypt also has played a moderating role in such international fora
as the UN and the Nonligned Movement.

Since 1991, Mubarak has undertaken an ambitious domestic economic reform
program to reduce the size of the public sector and expand the role of the
private sector. There has been less progress in political reform. The
November 2000 People's Assembly elections saw 34 members of the opposition
win seats in the 454seat assembly, facing a clear majority of 388
ultimately affiliated with the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP). The
opposition parties have been weak and divided and are not yet credible
alternatives to the NDP. The Muslim Brotherhood, founded in Egypt in 1928,
remains an illegal organization and may not be recognized as a political
party (current Egyptian law prohibits the formation of political parties
based on religion). Members are known publicly and openly speak their
views, although they do not explicitly identify themselves as members of the
organization. Members of the Brotherhood have been elected to the People's
Assembly and local councils as independents. While concern remains that
economic problems could promote increasing dissatisfaction with the
government, President Mubarak enjoys broad support.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS
The Egyptian constitution provides for a strong executive. Authority is
vested in an elected president who can appoint one or more vice presidents,
a prime minister, and a cabinet. The president's term runs for 6 years.
Egypt's legislative body, the People's Assembly, has 454 members444
popularly elected and 10 appointed by the president. The constitution
reserves 50% of the assembly seats for "workers and peasants." The assembly
sits for a 5year term but can be dissolved earlier by the President. There
also is a 264member Shura (consultative) Council, in which 88 members are
appointed and 174 elected for 6year terms. Below the national level,
authority is exercised by and through governors and mayors appointed by the
central government and by popularly elected local councils.

Opposition party organizations make their views public and represent their
followers at various levels in the political system, but power is
concentrated in the hands of the President and the National Democratic Party
majority in the People's Assembly and those institutions dominate the
political system. In addition to the ruling National Democratic Party,
there are 16 other legally recognized parties.

The November 2000 elections were generally considered to have been more
transparent and better executed than past elections, because of universal
judicial monitoring of polling stations. On the other hand, opposition
parties continue to lodge credible complaints about electoral manipulation
by the government. There are significant restrictions on the political
process and freedom of expression for nongovernmental organizations,
including professional syndicates and organizations promoting respect for
human rights.

Egypt's judicial system is based on European (primarily French) legal
concepts and methods. Under the Mubarak government, the courts have
demonstrated increasing independence, and the principles of due process and
judicial review have gained greater respect. The legal code is derived
largely from the Napoleonic Code. Marriage and personal status (family law)
are primarily based on the religious law of the individual concerned, which
for most Egyptians is Islamic Law (Sharia).

NATIONAL SECURITY
Egypt's armed forces, among the largest in the region, include the army, air
defense, air force, and navy. The armed forces inventory includes equipment
from the United States, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, the former Soviet
Union, and China. Equipment from the former Soviet Union is being
progressively replaced by more modern American, French, and British
equipment, a significant portion of which is built under license in Egypt.
To bolster stability and moderation in the region, Egypt has provided
military assistance and training to a number of African and Arab states.
Egypt remains a strong military and strategic partner of the United States.

Principal Government Officials
President Mohamed Hosny Mubarak
Address Presidency, Abdin Palace, Abdin, Cairo, Egypt

Dr. Atef Ebeid
Prime Minister
Address Ministers' Cabinet, Majlis Al Shaab Street, Cairo, Egypt
Tel 7923666 / 7922727

Dr. Youssef Wally
Deputy Prime Minister
Address Ministry of Agriculture, Shooting Club Street, Dokki, Cairo, Egypt
or Diwan A'am Wizaret Al Ziraa'aa, Midan Al Dokki, Cairo, Egypt
Tel 7603156 / 3372566 / 3373388

Ambassador Ahmed Maher
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Address MFA Building, Maspero, Cairo, Egypt
Tel 5749816/ 5749817
(Chief of his cabinet Amb. Mokhless Kotb 5749820)

Ambassador Nabil Fahmy
Ambassador to the United States of America
Address 3521 International Court N.W., Washington, D.C., 20008
Tel (202) 8955400

Ambassador Ahmed Aboul Gheit
Permanent Representative to the United Nations
Address 304 East 44th Street, New York, N.Y.
Tel (212) 5030300

Egypt maintains an embassy in the United States at 3521 International Court
N.W., Washington, D.C., 20008 (tel. 2028955400). The Washington consulate
has the same address (tel. 2029666342). The Egyptian Mission to the
United Nations is located at 304 East 44th Street, New York, N.Y. (tel.
2123050300). Egyptian consulates general are located at 1110 Second
Avenue, New York, N.Y., 10022 (tel. 2127597120) 1990 Post Oak Boulevard,
Suite 2180, Houston, TX, 77056 (tel. 7139614915) 500 N. Michigan Avenue,
Suite 1900, Chicago, IL, 60611 (tel. 3128289162) and 3001 Pacific Avenue,
San Francisco, CA, 94115 (tel. 4153469700).

ECONOMY
Under comprehensive economic reforms initiated in 1991, Egypt has relaxed
many price controls, reduced subsidies, and partially liberalized trade and
investment. Manufacturing is still dominated by the public sector, which
controls virtually all heavy industry. A process of public sector reform and
privatization has begun, however, which could enhance opportunities for the
private sector. Agriculture, mainly in private hands, has been largely
deregulated, with the exception of cotton and sugar production.
Construction, nonfinancial services, and domestic marketing are largely
private. This has promoted a steady increase of GNP and the annual growth
rate. Among Arab countries, Egypt's GDP is second only to Saudi Arabia's.
However, the Egyptian economy relies heavily on tourist revenues. The
tourism sector suffered tremendously following a terrorist attack on
tourists in Luxor in October 1997, and the September 11, 2001 terrorist
attacks against the United States, affecting the economy as a whole.

Agriculture
Approximately onethird of Egyptian labor is engaged directly in farming,
and many others work in the processing or trading of agricultural products.
Practically all Egyptian agriculture takes place in some 2.5 million
hectares (6 million acres) of fertile soil in the Nile Valley and Delta.
Some desert lands are being developed for agriculture, including the
ambitious Toshka project in Upper Egypt, but some other fertile lands in the
Nile Valley and Delta are being lost to urbanization and erosion.

Warm weather and plentiful water permit several crops a year. Further
improvement is possible, but land is worked intensively and yields are high.
Cotton, rice, wheat, corn, sugarcane, sugar beets, onions, and beans are the
principal crops. Increasingly, a few modern operations are producing
fruits, vegetables and flowers, in addition to cotton, for export. While
the desert hosts some large, modern farms, more common traditional farms
occupy one acre each, typically in a canalirrigated area along the banks of
the Nile. Many small farmers also have cows, water buffaloes, and chicken,
although larger modern farms are becoming more important.

The United States is a major supplier of wheat, corn, and soybean products
to Egypt, almost all through commercial sales. Egypt is, in fact, the
U.S.'s largest market for wheat sales. U.S. agricultural sales to Egypt
total $1 billion annually. U.S. food assistance programs to Egypt ended in
1992 as Egypt became more prosperous. Egypt continues to receive modest
food assistance through the World Food Program and from France.

"Egypt," wrote the Greek historian Herodotus 25 centuries ago, "is the gift
of the Nile." The land's seemingly inexhaustible resources of water and soil
carried by this mighty river created in the Nile Valley and Delta the
world's most extensive oasis. Without the Nile, Egypt would be little more
than a desert wasteland.

The river carves a narrow, cultivated floodplain, never more than 20
kilometers wide, as it travels northward toward Cairo from Lake Nasser on
the Sudanese border, behind the Aswan High Dam. Just north of Cairo, the
Nile spreads out over what was once a broad estuary that has been filled by
riverine deposits to form a fertile delta about 250 kilometers wide (150
mi.) at the seaward base and about 160 kilometers (96 mi.) from south to
north.

Before the construction of dams on the Nile, particularly the Aswan High Dam
(started in 1952, completed in 1970), the fertility of the Nile Valley was
sustained by the water flow and the silt deposited by the annual flood.
Sediment is now obstructed by the Aswan High Dam and retained in Lake
Nasser. The interruption of yearly, natural fertilization and the increasing
salinity of the soil has been a manageable problem resulting from the dam.
The benefits remain impressive more intensive farming on millions of acres
of land made possible by improved irrigation, prevention of flood damage,
and the generation of billions of lowcost kilowatt hours of electricity.

The Western Desert accounts for about twothirds of the country's land area.
For the most part, it is a massive sandy plateau marked by seven major
depressions. One of these, Fayoum, was connected about 3,600 years ago to
the Nile by canals. Today, it is an important irrigated agricultural area.

Natural Resources
In addition to the agricultural capacity of the Nile Valley and Delta,
Egypt's natural resources include petroleum, natural gas, phosphates, and
iron ore. Crude oil is found primarily in the Gulf of Suez and in the
Western Desert. Natural gas is found mainly in the Nile Delta, off the
Mediterranean sea shore, and in the Western Desert. Oil and gas accounted
for approximately 7% of GDP of FY2000/2001.

Export of petroleum and related products amounted to $2.6 billion in the
year 2000. In late 2001, Egypt's benchmark "Suez Blend" was about $16.73
per barrel, the lowest price since 1999.

Crude oil production has been in decline for several years, from 45.2
million metric tons (mmt) in 93/94 to 37 mmt in 99/00. Oil production in
late 2001 was about 740,000 barrels per day. To minimize the growing
domestic demand of petroleum products (approximately 23 mmt) Egypt is
encouraging the production of natural gas. Natural gas output continues to
increase and reached 18 mmt of oil equivalents in 2001.

Over the last 20 years, more than 217 oil exploration agreements have been
signed and multinational oil companies spent more than $27 billion in
exploration companions. These activities let to the findings of about 18
crude oil fields and 16 natural gas fields. As a result of these findings,
crude oil reserves as of September 2001 are estimated at 2.8 billion barrel,
and proven natural gas reserves are 55 trillion cubic feet (TCF) with a
likely additional 65 TCF. Texasbased Apache Oil Company is the largest
American investor in Egypt, with a total investment of more than $1.6
billion since 1996.

Egypt's excess of natural gas will more than meet its domestic demand for
many years to come. The Ministry of Petroleum has established expanding the
Egyptian petrochemical industry and increasing exports of natural gas as its
most significant strategic objectives.

Egypt and Jordan are cooperating to establish the Eastern Gas Company to
export natural gas to Jordan the expected date of completion is by
mid2003. It is estimated that Egypt will be able to export to Jordan 1.1
to 3 billion cubic meters of gas per year. Total investment in this project
is about $220 million.

Transport and Communication
Transportation facilities in Egypt are centered in Cairo and largely follow
the pattern of settlement along the Nile. The main line of the nation's
4,800kilometer (2,800mi.) railway network runs from Alexandria to Aswan.
The wellmaintained road network has expanded rapidly to over 21,000 miles,
covering the Nile Valley and Delta, Mediterranean and Red Sea coasts, the
Sinai, and the Western oases.

Egypt Air provides reliable domestic air service to major tourist
destinations from its Cairo hub, in addition to overseas routes. The Nile
River system (about 1,600 km. or 1,000 mi.) and the principal canals (1,600
km.) are important locally for transportation. The Suez Canal is a major
waterway of international commerce and navigation, linking the Mediterranean
and Red Seas. Major ports are Alexandria, Port Said, and Damietta on the
Mediterranean, and Suez and Safraga on the Red Sea.

Egypt has long been the cultural and informational center of the Arab world,
and Cairo is the region's largest publishing and broadcasting center. There
are eight daily newspapers with a total circulation of more than 2 million,
and a number of monthly newspapers, magazines, and journals. The majority of
political parties have their own newspapers, and these papers conduct a
lively, often highly partisan, debate on public issues.

Egyptian groundbroadcast television (ETV) is government controlled and
depends heavily on commercial revenue. ETV sells its specially produced
programs and soap operas to the entire Arab world. In addition to Egyptian
programming, the Middle East Broadcast Company, a Saudi television station
transmitting from London (MBC), Arab Radio and Television (ART), AlJazira
television, and other Gulf stations are available, as well as Western
networks, to Egyptians who own satellite receivers.

ETV has two main channels, six regional channels, and three satellite
channels. Of the two main channels, Channel I uses mainly Arabic, while
Channel II is dedicated to foreigners and more cultured viewers,
broadcasting news in English and French as well as Arabic.

Egyptian Satellite channels broadcast to the Middle East, Europe, and the
U.S. East Coast.
In April 1998, Egypt launched its own satellite known as NileSat 101. Seven
specialized channels cover news, culture, sports, education, entertainment,
health, and drama. A second, digital satellite, Nilesat 102, was launched
in August 2000. Many of its channels are rented to other stations.

Three new private satellitebased TV stations were launched in November
2001, marking a great change in Egyptian government policy. Dream TV 1 and
2 produce cultural programming, broadcast contemporary video clips and
films featuring Arab and international actors, as well as soap operas
another private station focuses on business and general news. Both private
channels transmit on NileSat.

Radio in Egypt is also government controlled, using 44 shortwave
frequencies, 18 mediumwave stations, and four FM stations. There are seven
regional radio stations covering the country. Egyptian Radio transmits 60
hours daily overseas in 33 languages and three hundred hours daily within
Egypt. In 2000, Radio Cairo introduced new specialized (thematic) channels
on its FM station. So far, they include news, music, and sports. Radio
enjoys more freedom than TV in its news programs, talk shows and analysis.

FOREIGN RELATIONS
Geography, population, history, military strength, and diplomatic expertise
give Egypt extensive political influence in the Middle East and within the
Nonaligned Movement as a whole. Cairo has been a crossroads of Arab
commerce and culture for millennia, and its intellectual and Islamic
institutions are at the center of the region's social and cultural
development.

The Arab League headquarters is in Cairo, and the Secretary General of the
League is traditionally an Egyptian. Former Egyptian Foreign Minister Amre
Moussa is the present Secretary General of the Arab League. President
Mubarak has often chaired the Organization of African Unity, which is now
becoming the African Union. Egyptian Deputy Prime Minister Boutros
BoutrosGhali served as Secretary General of the United Nations from 1991 to
1996.

Egypt is a key partner in the search for peace in the Middle East and
resolution of the IsraeliPalestinian conflict. Sadat's groundbreaking trip
to Israel in 1977, the 1978 Camp David Accords, and the 1979 EgyptIsrael
Peace Treaty represented a fundamental shift in the politics of the
regionfrom a strategy of confrontation to one of peace as a strategic
choice. Egypt was subsequently ostracized by other Arab states and ejected
from the Arab League from 1979 to 1989. Egypt played an important role in
the negotiations leading to the Madrid Peace Conference in 1991, which,
under U.S. and Russian sponsorship, brought together all parties in the
region to discuss Middle East peace. This support has continued to the
present, with President Mubarak often intervening personally to promote
peace negotiations. In 1996, he hosted the Sharm ElSheikh "Summit of the
Peacemakers" attended by President Clinton and other world leaders. In
2000, he hosted two summits at Sharm ElSheikh and one at Taba in an effort
to resume the Camp David negotiations suspended in July of 2000.

Egypt played a key role during the 199091 Gulf crisis. President Mubarak
helped assemble the international coalition and deployed 35,000 Egyptian
troops against Iraq to liberate Kuwait. The Egyptian contingent was the
third largest in the coalition forces, after the U.S. and U.K. In the
aftermath of the Gulf war, Egypt signed the Damascus declaration with Syria
and the Gulf states to strengthen Gulf security. Egypt continues to
contribute regularly to UN peacekeeping missions, most recently in East
Timor and Sierra Leone. Following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks
on the United States, Egypt, which has itself been the target of terrorist
attacks, has been a key supporter of the U.S. war against terrorists and
terrorist organizations such as Osama bin Ladin and alQaeda.

U.S.EGYPTIAN RELATIONS
The United States and Egypt enjoy a strong and friendly relationship based
on shared mutual interest in Middle East peace and stability, revitalizing
the Egyptian economy and strengthening trade relations, and promoting
regional security. Over the years, Egypt and the United States have worked
together assiduously to expand Middle East peace negotiations, hosting
talks, negotiations, and the Middle East and North Africa Economic (MENA)
Conference. Multinational exercises, U.S. assistance to Egypt's military
modernization program, and Egypt's role as a contributor to various UN
peacekeeping operations continually reinforce the U.S.Egyptian military
relationship.

An important pillar of the bilateral relationship remains U.S. security and
economic assistance to Egypt, which expanded significantly in the wake of
the EgyptianIsraeli Peace Treaty in 1979. U.S. military aid to Egypt
totals over $1.3 billion annually. In addition, USAID has provided over $24
billion in economic and development assistance to Egypt between 1975 and
2000. A shift in assistance from infrastructure, health, food supply, and
agriculture toward marketbased economic development, good governance, and
training programs is reflected in the motto, "From Aid to Trade." The
Commodity Import Program, through which USAID provides hundreds of millions
of dollars in financing to enable the Egyptian private sector to import U.S.
goods, remains one of the largest and most popular USAID programs.

U.S. military cooperation has helped Egypt modernize its armed forces and
strengthen regional security and stability. Under FMS programs, the U.S. has
provided F4 jet aircraft, F16 jet fighters, M60A3 and M1A1 tanks, armored
personnel carriers, Apache helicopters, antiaircraft missile batteries,
aerial surveillance aircraft, and other equipment. The U.S. and Egypt also
participate in combined military exercises, including deployments of U.S.
troops to Egypt. Each year, Egypt hosts Operation Bright Star, a
multilateral military exercise with the U.S., and the largest military
exercise in the world. Units of the U.S. 6th Fleet are regular visitors to
Egyptian ports.



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September 14, 1999

The Department of State warns U.S. citizens of the risks of travel to Lebanon, and recommends that Americans who travel there exercise caution. In the past, Americans have been targets of numerous terrorist attacks in Lebanon. The perpetrators of these attacks are still present in Lebanon, and retain the ability to act. In June 1998 the U.S. Embassy in Beirut was the target of a rocketpropelled grenade attack. The security situation in the city of Sidon has recently deteriorated, including the issuance from the Sidon area of an antiAmerican threat of undetermined credibility. Americans are cautioned to avoid travel into Sidon and adjacent Palestinian refugee camps until the security environment stabilizes.

The local security environment limits the movement of U.S. officials in certain areas of the country. This factor, and limited staffing, prevent the U.S. Embassy from performing full consular functions and providing timely assistance in all cases to Americans in Lebanon. Dual nationals and spouses of Lebanese citizens can encounter particular difficulties. (See paragraphs on dual nationality, compulsory military service and custody/family issues in this Consular Information Sheet.) All Department of State employees and their families, and all U.S. government employees and their families under the authority of a chief of mission abroad, are restricted from unofficial travel in Lebanon without prior approval by the Department of State. American air carriers are prohibited from use of the Beirut International Airport due to continuing concern about passenger and aircraft security arrangements. In view of these concerns, U.S. Government travelers currently use the airport on a limited basis.

The expiration of the passport restriction for travel to Lebanon by U.S. citizens in July 1997 and the removal of the restriction on sale of airline tickets to Lebanon in June 1998 should not be construed as a determination by the Department of State that travel to Lebanon is without risk. The Department of State keeps the security situation in Lebanon under close review and will address additional risks and take any other appropriate steps as necessary. In particular, U.S. citizens who travel to Lebanon should avoid the southern suburbs of Beirut, portions of the Biqa" Valley, and southern Lebanon, including Sidon. Palestinian camps are outside the control of the Lebanese government. Areas inside and along the borders of the Israelioccupied zone are unsettled and subject to frequent armed conflict. All of these areas should be avoided and visitors to Lebanon should monitor the news for reports of hostilities or incidents that might affect their personal safety.

Details & Reservations: Travel Warning Lebanon
RealAdventures | Lebanon Official Info

]]> http://www.RealAdventures.com/listings/1024368_Travel-Warning-Iran http://www.RealAdventures.com/listings/1024368_Travel-Warning-Iran Official Info Iran Mon, 23 Oct 2000 00:10:00 US State Department Travel Warning for Iran -
US State Department Travel Warning for Iran


September 14, 1999
WARNING The Department of State warns U.S. citizens to defer travel to Iran. Iranian President Khatami has called for a "dialogue of civilizations" and an increase of private exchanges between Iranians and Americans some limited exchanges have taken place. There is, however, evidence that hostility to the United States remains in some segments of the Iranian population and some elements of the Iranian government. In July 1999, violent antigovernment demonstrations took place in Tehran and other cities around the country. There were accusations that the U.S. was behind these demonstrations. Prior to and since that time, some groups of American travelers have encountered harassment by vigilante groups.

The U.S. government does not currently have diplomatic or consular relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran and therefore cannot provide protection or routine consular services to American citizens in Iran. The Swiss government, acting through its embassy in Tehran, serves as protecting power for U.S. interests in Iran. The Iranian government does not recognize dual citizenship and generally does not permit the Swiss to provide protective services for American citizens who are also Iranian nationals. In addition, U.S. citizens of Iranian origin who are considered by Iran to be Iranian citizens have been detained and harassed by Iranian authorities. Former Muslims who have converted to other religions, as well as persons who encourage Muslims to convert, are subject to arrest and possible execution. The Iranian government reportedly has the names of all individuals who filed claims against Iran, and who received awards, at the IranU.S. claims tribunal at The Hague pursuant to the 1981 Algerian Accords. There are restrictions on both the import and the export of goods between Iran and the United States. Neither U.S. passports nor visas to the United States are issued in Tehran.

Details & Reservations: Travel Warning Iran
RealAdventures | Iran Official Info

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