EGYPT TEAM PROFILE ECONOMY The Egyptian GDP for 1994 was 151.5 billion dollars, while per capita GDP was 2,490. Some of the major Egyptian industries are textiles, food processing, tourism, and petroleum. Due to the climate, agricultural productivity is high. Most of this production takes place in the 6,000,000 acres of fertile soil in the Nile Valley and Delta. Among the major products are cotton, rice, onions, and beans. A few problems have plagued the Egyptian economy. Among them is a massive foreign debt, a reliance on revenue from tourism, and inflation. Egypt has received much assistance from the U.S. to the tune of 2.2 billion dollars, the rest of its soaring debt has come by way of international lending institutions, such as the IMF and the World Bank. To satisfy the demands of the IMF, Egypt has devalued its currency. While this has enabled them to satisfy repayment terms, it has brought about rampant inflation. Because of terrorist attacks by groups such as the Islamic Jihad, the tourist industry has suffered greatly. While security forces have sought to contain the efforts of this group, they have not been able to bring back the lost revenue. Unemployment has also been problematic. Inasmuch as Mubarak fears higher unemployment and austerity, Mubarak has been tentative in implementing economic reforms. So these problems will continue to exact a heavy toll on the Egyptians well into the future. SOCIAL STRUCTURE Muslims, most of whom are Sunnis, comprise nearly 94 percent of Egyptian populace. The country has between 3 and 4 million Coptic Christians, making up 4-6 percent of the population. There exists a very small, 1631 contingent of Egyptian Jews as well. There has traditionally been a great deal of hostility between the Coptics and the Muslims. Before he was murdered, Anwar Sadat brought on hostility as he expelled Muslim critics from their posts in mosques and banished the Coptic Pope from Cairo. These hostilities have calmed down during Mubaraks reign. He has allowed previously banned religious newspapers to circulate and allowed the Coptic Pope back in Egypt. Moreover, it should be noted, that the Copts are not in any way threatening to the current regime. However, Islamic groups called the Gamaat Islamiya have flourished. There are between thirty and sixty such groups operating in Egypt. Among them, the Islamic Jihad, has proven to be something of a threat to the government. This is insofar as they have claimed responsibility for many recent assassination attempts on political figures, policemen, intellectuals, and tourists. While Mubarak has attempted to accommodate some of the desires of the Islamic fundamentalists, an influx of attacks on tourists which has had a dramatic influence on the economy and the government, Mubarak has supervised a crackdown on such groups. Many Islamists have been arrested. And much violence between the governments security forces and the Islamists has occurred. MILITARY Militarily speaking, Egypt does rather well. Since the Camp David Accords, Egypt has received substantial allotments of money from the United States. Currently, their armed forces rival the largest forces in the region. They have an army (of 290,000), an air defense (of 70,000), an air force (of 30,000), and a navy (of 20,000). The armed forces use equipment from the U.S., France, Italy, the UK, the former Soviet Union, and China. That equipment from the former Soviet Union, is being replaced by more modern American, British, and French equipment, much of which is being built in Egypt. The Egyptian forces have a great deal of available manpower. There exist almost 10.5 million men fit for military service. Nearly, 650,000 young men come of age annually and can supplement this number. Mubarak is sympathetic with those in the military, as in 1972, he became the commander of the Air Force. The regime enjoys broad-based support. It works well with its security forces to achieve its goals. As for the regimes relationship with the government, Mubarak is the supreme commander of the armed forces and has been granted emergency powers since the death of Sadat. Mubarak enjoys the loyalty of the military organizations the officers of which he has provided with many special benefits. In 1986, they demonstrated their loyalty by controlling an uprising in Cairo of malcontents. Geographically, Egypt is quite defensible. The Mediterranean Sea is on the Northern border. The Sinai peninsula with its rough terrain and few passes (the Mitla and Gidi) affords some degree of protection from land attacks from the East. The Western Desert, a massive sandy plateau, with its seven major depressions is something of a buffer zone for the Egyptians. RULING COALITION Hosni Mubarak was elected president of Egypt following the assassination of Anwar Sadat on October 6, 1981. Mubarak has won landslide victories in each of the last three elections. He is enjoying a great deal of popularity, as is his party the National Democratic Party, which holds 79.4 percent of the seats in the Peoples Assembly. As for a likely successor, Mubarak has left both Egypt, and the rest of the world largely in the dark. He has not named a vice president, and there are no likely candidates to take his place. Among the legal opposition to Mubaraks regime is the New Wafd Party, led by Fuad Siraj al-Din, the Socialist Labor Party, led by Ibrahim Shukri, the National Progressive Unionist Grouping, led by Khalid Muhyi-al-Din and a host of other parties. Among his allies are Prime Minister Atef Sedky, Deputy Prime Minister Youssef Amin Wally, and the other Deputy Prime Minister, Kamal Ahmed al-Ganzouri. FOREIGN POLICY POSITIONS In May of 1989, Egypt was readmitted into the Arab League. Former Egyptian Foreign Minister Abdel Meguid is the current Secretary General of the league. Mubarak chaired the Organization of African Unity from 1989-90 and in 1993. In 1991, Boutros Boutros-Gali was elected Secretary General of the UN. Egypt played a key role in the Gulf Crisis. It signed the Damascus declaration with Syria and the Gulf states, thereby strengthening Gulf security. Egypt played an important role in the Madrid Conference in 1991 in discussions of a Middle Eastern Peace. Egypt and Israel are committed to improving their bilateral relationship. There has been progress regarding Sinai antiquities and other issues of interest to these two parties. Mubarak has long supported strong U.S.- Egyptian relations. The two countries have worked closely to arrive at peace in the Middle East and recently, together in UN peace-keeping endeavors in Somalia. U.S. security and economic assistance to Egypt are strong incentives for the Egyptians eagerly work alongside the Americans in shared ventures. In 1993, the U.S. gave Egypt 1.3 billion dollars in foreign military sales grants. They also contributed 815 million in economic support. These two reasons, are indeed, large incentives. Bibliography Congressional Quarterly Inc. The Middle East. Mage Publishers, Inc., 1987. Internet http://www.odci.gov/cia/...cations/chiefs/2316.html http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/95fact/eg.html gopher://dosfan.lib.uic.edu:70/OF-1%3A5700%3AEgypt%2C%203/95