General Assembly 2
Egypt
Kaitlyn Russell
External Debt Crisis and Development
The continuing problem of debt crisis is a pressing issue in Egypt. There have been numerous
matters and events, which have held back the development of the country. Starting in 1961, with the spread
of a series of laws, Egypt was quickly socialized. In 1965, an economic-development plan was introduced
that brought incredible amounts of expansion. However, in 1965, a 7 year plan was introduced that was less
successful because of insufficient foreign investment. Losses were also suffered during the Arab-Israeli
War in June of 1967 and Egypt couldn’t afford another war. The economy grew well after that but suffered
sufficient damage when the worlds oil prices collapsed in the early 80’s. Currently, Egypt as a country has
approximately ten percent debt to GDP (gross domestic product) ratio. However, many other countries in
Africa and in every other corner of the world are less fortunate then Egypt. Some African countries have
debt ratios of one hundred percent or more. Because of these problems, many countries, including Egypt,
are not being able to develop and are constantly overwhelmed by growing amounts of debt.
Egypt’s government and people believe that in order to begin to eliminate this worldwide debt,
drastic measures need to be taken. Many other countries have proposed that there be debt relief or even
elimination of this debt. It is acknowledged and understood that these debts cannot, should not, and will not
be completely eradicated, but some assistance is in order for the countries with problems prominently in
this area. However, there has been participation by the UN in solving this problem. For example, between
the mid-1970s and the early 1990s the U.S. provided Egypt with almost $19 billion in economic assistance
and after the Persian Gulf War, helped even more. If it wouldn’t have been for the U.S., Egypt would
currently be in a much more dire situation. Egypt stands on the fact that the United Nations need to truly
unite and assist each other as much as possible in this debt crisis as well as other central issues.
International Year of Freshwater 2003
The preservation of the environment and of the world’s natural resources is becoming more and more
vital as time progresses. A great deal of the world’s atmosphere, rain forests, renewable and non-renewable
recourses, and fresh water sources are vanishing. The conservation and protection of these water sources is
particularly important for Egypt in that it is ninety-seven percent desert and the four percent of the land that
is habitable is near to the Nile River. In 1994, Egypt passed Law 4 for the preservation of the environment.
This set of laws restructured the environmental ministry, creating the Egyptian Environmental Affairs
Agency (EEAA). The law also established the Environmental Protection Fund, focused on giving over
$250,00 in grants to projects focused on solid waste management. As of 2002, fresh drinking water was
ninety-nine percent accessible in urban areas and ninety-six percent accessible in rural areas. However,
there are still measures that need to be taken to ensure the conditions of Egypt’s main water sources, The
Nile River and its tributaries, remain good or improve.
Egypt strongly believes that the fresh water issue is very important and needs to be addressed, or
solved, as promptly and effectively as possible. If no policies or laws are put in place concerning keeping
the world’s water supplies clean and healthy, they may possibly reach a point beyond being able to be
sanitized. The council of Egypt advises that this issue be thoroughly and very seriously scrutinized to find
the most efficient short-term or long-term plan for waste management in individual countries with
problems. Egypt also concurs with the idea to proclaim 2005-2015 as the International Decade on Water for
Life. Programs could be put into place to ensure that each individual country has an agenda that identifies
and deals with the specific needs and problems with their water supply. These problems with the
environment that have been created will soon catch up to world as a whole and need to be dealt with as
soon as possible in order to ensure the healthy continuation of the human race and all other inhabitance of
the world.