November 24, 2008
Grand Hyatt Hotel, Laylati Ballroom

Thank you very much for your kind introduction, Dr. El-Maghraby, President of the Rehab Lions’ Club, and for your special efforts to organize this event. I would also like to thank Rehab Club Secretary Engineer Hendy, Lions’ Club Egypt Governor Azab, and Vice-Governor Khodeir for their gracious welcome, and I can only offer my own Ahlan wa Sahlen for your visit to the US this summer for your annual Lions Club conference in Minnesota. I think you will find it a beautiful trip and we will do everything we can to make the arrangements easy for everyone.

It is a great honor for me to address members of the Lions Club in Egypt. I am extremely impressed with the ambitious and altruistic goals and projects of Lions’ Club International, the world's largest community service organization. Lions Clubs International began in 1917, and has grown in the last 90 years to more than 1.3 million men and women in clubs around the world, including the 38 Lions Clubs in Egypt.

As we heard, the first Lions Club in Egypt was the Cairo Lions Club, established in 1955. Mr. Mohamed Zaki Abdel-Qader, Chief Editor of Akhbar Al-Youm newspaper, was the first President and Mr. Ghali Amin Ghali, professor at the American University in Cairo, was the first Secretary. The Cairo Lions Club held its first meeting at the Continental Hotel, a hotel that offered a luxurious dinner, I am told, for the price of 40 piasters. Times have certainly changed. I’m not sure what sort of meal 40 piasters would look like today! But the Lions Club has remained constant in its commitment to service in the communities where members live, with hands-on work, no administrative costs and a focus on the needs of the community.

I am amazed by the Lions Clubs’ many projects to help those with visual impairments, including the worldwide flagship program, Sightfirst, that has restored sight to 7.3 million people through cataract surgeries, and the projects that prevent various vision losses for 20 million people and improve eye care services for hundreds of millions. Rehab Lions Club is to be commended for its project to provide artificial lenses for people who have lost their eyesight in an accident, in keeping with the international Lions Club goal of improving eyesight and preventing blindness. I just heard before this dinner of the national project that the Lions Club is working on to establish a hospital in Minoufiya.

The commitment of Lions Clubs in Egypt to needy and visually impaired citizens locally and worldwide is encouraging to me. You identify problems to address, develop effective partnerships, and create the solutions that have an immediate impact at the community level. Your success in your projects speaks volumes about not only the effectiveness of community groups, but also about your commitment to improving the lives of Egyptians less fortunate than yourselves. You are making a better life for your communities and for the global community.

This is a very strong tradition of partnership that we enjoy in the United States as well. Governments obviously have their role and have their purpose, but the projects and the efforts initiated from grassroots community groups are always more effective and always more responsive to genuine needs identified by communities themselves.

I appreciate being invited here to talk to you tonight and I will keep my remarks short so that I will have an opportunity to hear your thoughts and comments, and I’ll try to answer as many questions as I can.

I view this evening as an opportunity to participate in a dialogue with citizens of Egypt. Respectful and candid discussions are what marks and characterizes a relationship between friends. I firmly believe that the foundation of the United States-Egyptian relationship is based upon the strong friendship and mutual respect between the people of both countries.

And although I would like to think I know a lot about this country, you are a huge country, with a variety of different regions, huge diversity of personal experiences, and no matter how long I will be privileged to be in Egypt, I am certain I will only begin scratch the surface of the cultural and social richness of this country. The basis of our relationship was formed many years ago, when the first Americans came to Egypt in the late 18th century and were fascinated with its history and culture. Since then, the relationship has developed through the activities and achievements of Egyptian and American partnerships. We have worked together and achieved a great deal in peace, and in economic development and trade. We exchange visitors – more than 200,000 Americans visit Egypt every year – and we cooperate in vigorous educational and cultural exchange programs with Egypt.

The continuing increase in student exchanges between our two countries is extremely encouraging to me and demonstrates the strength of our relationship. In the 2007-2008 academic year, Egyptian students in the United States increased by 6% from the previous year, to 1,766. At the same time, the number of American students in Egypt increased by 10% reaching a record high of 1,100. More American students are currently studying in Egypt than in any other country in the Arabic-speaking world. I am a firm believer in the lasting value of educational and cultural exchange programs to our bilateral relationship.

I am also extremely optimistic about the enduring strength of the Egyptian and U.S. relationship. For over three decades, the United States and Egypt have been proud partners aiming to strengthen peace in the region. Together, we have worked to help the Palestinians and Israelis agree on a just and lasting solution to their conflict. Egypt’s role is vital and valued. The Quartet recently commended Egypt for its endeavors to overcome Palestinian divisions and to reunite Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza under the legitimate Palestinian Authority.

Egypt and the United States also share the belief that Iraq requires regional and international support for peace and security there to prevail. In a very important step, the Government of Egypt has recently announced its intention to re-open its embassy in Baghdad. Egypt’s increased economic, diplomatic, social and cultural engagement with the people of Iraq is essential and we urge Iraq’s neighbors and friends to follow Egypt’s leadership.

We work closely against the dangers of extremism throughout the region. As a model of moderation and stability, Egypt plays no more important role than that of leading the fight against extremist ideologies and actions throughout the Middle East.

Where peace takes hold, people think about how to create a more prosperous future through sustainable economic growth, based on free economies and free trade. Here, too, our partnership is solid. Over the past three decades, the American people have invested over 58 billion dollars in economic and military assistance to support Egyptians’ own efforts to build and secure a brighter future for their own country.

At the same time Egypt reformed its economy and worked to integrate itself into global markets. Egypt is now a richer, healthier, and better-educated place than it has ever been before in its modern history.

As we expand our partnership to catch up to Egypt’s economic growth, we are focusing on trade, not aid, as the source of the jobs and prosperity for future generations.

Trade is now perhaps the most important aspect of Egyptian-U.S. economic relations. Between 1985 and 2007, the U.S. and Egypt conducted bilateral trade amounting to more than 88 billion dollars. The most impressive part of this story is not the size of the trade, but the speed at which it is growing. In 2007, trade between Egypt and the United States was more than 7.9 billion dollars and we expect this growth to continue.

In my own efforts to get to know Egypt and its people, I’ve had the opportunity to travel beyond Cairo, to different governorates. For me, this has been the most valuable and rewarding part of my time in Egypt because it has allowed me to experience the beauty and hospitality of all the places that together make up Egypt. I’ve traveled to Minoufeya and Qaloubiya, Alexandria and Suez. Next week I will travel to Port Said, and Ismailia, and I look forward to spending time at Suez Canal University. The interactions I have with students and young people make me confident that Egypt is well-equipped for the future, and has the richest resource of all to draw upon – its human capital and potential.

I have been impressed with the commitment, courage and determination of the leaders and members of many non-governmental organizations I have met in Egypt. It is through the activities and dedication of concerned citizens and groups like the Lions’ Clubs of Egypt, that citizens who are less fortunate are given a better life, a life of hope and prosperity. I encourage you to continue your efforts to improve eyesight, fund scholarships, and help the disadvantaged: your efforts are the building blocks which will improve the quality of life for all in Egypt.

As members of the Lions’ Club, your part in maintaining Egyptian leadership and the Egyptian-American partnership is vital. By serving the both the local and international community, helping the visually impaired and the blind, by awarding scholarships to youth, and by providing assistance in natural disasters worldwide, Lions build bridges between societies, especially between the United States and Egypt.

With Egyptians and Americans engaged as friends and grounded in mutual respect and understanding, I am confident we will succeed in building a more peaceful and prosperous and democratic future that we all desire.

Many people have asked me about what to expect from the new president of the United States. We are as yet nearly two months from our own transition on January 20th, so I’m not in a position to say what exactly our new president will do, but I am very, very confident that he will continue to share the long established respect and reliance for its role in the region and for the gifts it has given to both the past and the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this wonderful opportunity to talk with you. You have been very kind to give me the podium. I would be delighted to hear your thoughts, and if you have questions, I will do my best to provide answers for you.