I am very pleased to be giving the opening remarks at this seminar. Ambassador Ricciardone wanted to be here himself, but had to excuse himself due to his travel to the U.S. This is the first in a series of “Doing Business with the USA” seminars that the U.S. Commercial Service has planned during 2006. Let me begin by expressing my deepest sympathy on the death of Mr. Gamal El Nazer, Chairman of the Board of the Egyptian Businessmen Association. His dynamism in actively promoting the cause of friendship between the United States and Egypt will always be remembered by us. We have lost a leading business leader; a tireless advocate for free enterprise, and above all a sincere friend of the United States." We shall miss him. Our condolences go to members of his bereaved family and we pray to give them the courage and fortitude to bear this irreplaceable loss.

I also want to express our gratitude to the Egyptian Businessmen Association for its splendid cooperation in organizing this seminar. In particular, I would like to thank Mr. Mohammed Youssef, General Secretary of the Egyptian Businessmen Association for their generous support.

We have an old proverb that states “Blessed is he who has nothing to say and who refrains from saying it.” Well, this proverb does not apply to me on this occasion. I have something of utmost importance to say. My message is simply that the United States strongly supports Egypt’s efforts to achieve sustained economic growth, and we are also committed to fostering a closer economic and commercial relationship with Egypt.

There is widespread international recognition that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) plays a crucial role in aiding economic recovery by introducing much needed new capital, new technological and managerial know-how, and boosting job opportunities. The United States recognizes that Egypt needs foreign direct investment. I am proud to say that at the end of 2005, the United States was again the top foreign investor in Egypt. U.S. investments of $2 billion equaled more than half of the $3.8 billion total invested here in fiscal year 2004-05. In fact, the official figures understate the actual level of U.S. involvement since they do not include capital belonging to Egyptian subsidiaries of American firms operating out of Europe.

I am also pleased to highlight the fact that the United States has historically been among Egypt’s biggest trading partners. In January 2005, to help the Egyptian textile industry cope with the expiration of the Multi-Fiber Agreement, the United States signed a Qualified Industrial Zone Agreement (QIZ) with Egypt. The QIZ agreement allows Egypt to export products to the U.S. tariff-free on condition that the products are at least 35 percent local value-added and at least 11.7 percent of their inputs come from Israel.

As a result of the QIZ agreement, over 500 textile companies have registered in 13 QIZs. According to the Ministry of Trade and Industry statistics, Egypt’s textile exports to the U.S. increased by more than 30 percent year-on-year, from $192 million to $252 million, during the first four months of 2006. Even more significantly for its longer-term growth, the textile sector is witnessing fast-increasing foreign investment as a direct result of the QIZ agreement. Several of the world's best textile-producing countries are now coming to Egypt to invest. I also want to highlight the fact that the QIZ is a unilateral trade preference and we do not get any special trade preferences back from Egypt in return.

Although trade volume between the two countries has jumped to more than $5 billion last year, Egypt and the United States must do more to increase this trade volume. Today’s seminar is part of a comprehensive effort on our behalf to partner with Egyptian business organizations to reach out to a diverse segment of the population. We want to make it easier for both countries to do business with each other. You will hear today from my colleagues from the Embassy's Commercial Section about the nuts and bolts of doing business with the United States. Most importantly, you will hear from private American companies who will share with you the latest developments in supply chain management, logistics and financing. I have also asked my colleagues from the Consular Section to brief you on procedures for obtaining business visas to the United States. We believe that open communication will help us take the mystery out of the visa process!

Let me close by saying that the Untied States Government fully recognizes and appreciates the Egyptian Government’s efforts to implement an ambitious structural reform and economic stabilization program with the support of the IMF. In its commitment to good governance, an open, transparent market economy and growing opportunity for all its citizens, Egypt knows it has a partner in the United States.

Thank you for your time and I wish you much success in your business endeavors.