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Daily News Egypt is a completely independent news provider for Egypt and the wider MENA region. Working with local Arabic sources we provide the English speaking world with an insight into breaking news, in print and online every day of the week. We aim to build our reputation for honest and reliable reporting, to make us a point of reference on Egyptian current affairs for readers all over the world.
The newspaper originally launched in 2005. Business News for Press, Publishing and Distribution Company, owner of the daily financial newspaper Alborsa, obtained the rights to Daily News Egypt in May 2012, in order to reinvest in the paper and return it to the pinnacle of English language news publishing in Egypt.
We provide news articles on politics, business, opinion, lifestyle, culture as well as investigative features, tourism articles and interviews. Our team of journalists, editors, photographers and designers are all committed to a high standard of impartial journalism.

Nick Dearden

Photo stunt:
Campaigners with masks of Hosni Mubarak and Nick Clegg will protest at 5pm outside the Cabinet Office, 70 Whitehall, London SW1A 2AS.

28 June 2012
Hook: Egypt debt repayments to UK and other Western governments, 29 June

Egypt pays $650m ‘dictator debt’ to West
Protests in London and Paris against this weekend’s debt repayments to UK and other Western countries

Campaign groups in London and Paris will protest the ongoing repayments Egypt is making to the UK and France on the basis of ‘dictator debts’ run up under the regime of Hosni Mubarak. Egypt is expected to pay around $650 million to the Paris Club of Western creditors on 29 June, just part of this year’s expected $3 billion repayments on interest and debt stock.[1]

As Egypt’s new President takes office, social justice group Jubilee Debt Campaign is calling for an immediate moratorium on Egypt’s debts, while a ‘debt audit’ is carried out to assess the legitimacy of those debts. Egypt owes £100 million to the UK’s Export Finance (UKEF) department, nicknamed ‘the Department for Dodgy Deals’, because of its support for arms and fossil fuels. The department has not released information about the origins of these loans, but JDC has discovered contracts for military technology with the Mubarak regime, and that of his predecessor Sadat, in the 1980s and 1970s.[2]

JDC will hand in a petition to Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg to call on him to stand by Liberal Democrat party policy supporting debt audits and the cancellation of dictator debts. Despite this policy, Business Secretary Vince Cable has said he doesn’t support a debt audit.[3]

Nick Dearden of Jubilee Debt Campaign said:

“As Egypt’s people are struggling for their freedom from a repressive military regime, the UK is reclaiming interest payments based on dodgy deals with that very regime. Meanwhile, new loans are being pushed on Egypt to make these payments possible.

“Governments like that of the UK need to take on their historical responsibility – when they made appalling deals which helped reinforce military rule, then they should not expect to get repaid. That’s what Liberal Democrat party policy says, and today we’re telling them to stand by it.”

Dina Makram-Ebeid from the Popular Campaign to Drop Egypt’s Debt said:

“We believe that Egypt’s debt is Mubarak’s debt. It is not the Egyptian people’s. Egyptians never had a say in the borrowing that was being made in their name, let alone borrowing to buy arms.

“If the UK government is in earnest in its support for democracy in post-revolutionary Egypt, it should be telling the Egyptian people what they are paying for and not demanding that they carry the burden of repaying illegitimate loans. Dropping Egypt’s debt is fundamental to achieving the goals of ‘bread, freedom and human dignity’ that the people revolted for last year.”

ENDS

For further information contact Jubilee Debt Campaign on +44 (0)20 7324 4724 or +44(0) 7932 335 464.

Notes

[1] For the last four years we have figures for (2007-2010) the Egyptian government has spent around $3 billion dollars on total foreign debt payments. On 29 June, Egypt will pay £7m of ‘dictator debt’ repayments to the UK and around $650 million to all Paris Club creditors. Egypt owes $15.7 billion to the Paris Club:
http://www.clubdeparis.org/sections/donnees-chiffrees/encours-du-club-paris_1/downloadFile/attachedFile_3_f0/2011a.pdf?nocache=1340733711.3

[2] Egypt owes UKEF (formerly the Export Credit Guarantee Department or ECGD) £100 million. The debt comes from ECGD backing loans to President Sadat (1970-1981) and his successor General Mubarak (1981-2011) in the 1970s and 1980s. Liberal Democrat Business Minister Ed Davey says the debt comes from 400 export contracts finalised before November 1986. Research by Jubilee Debt Campaign from documents uncovered in the national archives reveals that some of these export contracts were for arms sales to President Sadat and his successor Hosni Mubarak.

By 1979 £40 million of loans (20 per cent of all UK backed loans to Egypt) were for arms sales to President Sadat. In 1979 and 1980 ECGD available backing for loans that were too risky for normal cover, but in the national interest, increased from £65 million to £400 million. In 1985 and 1986 ECGD backed loans of £250 million for further arms sales. This included a tank factory near Cairo and a military city west of Alexandria. By 1986, ECGD had stopped backing loans for Egypt because of their high debt except in exceptional circumstances when British national interest required the loans to be made – such as arms deals.

[3] Text of the JDC petition to the Liberal Democrat party is at: http://www.jubileedebtcampaign.org.uk/egypt.
Dr. Sudhanshu Tripathi

Dear Sir,
Pasted here is my short piece/comment for your consideration:

Pakistan’s firm resolve against terror in North Waziristan
With Pakistan’s new found determination to come down heavily on terror in North Waziristan, there is a fresh hope of peace and security in entire South Asia as well as in the world, particularly to the great satisfaction of the U.S. and also India.
Fortunately, the latest major policy overhaul in Pakistan regarding its sincere fight against terrorism with in the country and also with the U.S. led NATO forces against global terror networks has come out as a great satisfaction not only for India and America but also for the whole world. Reaffirming its resolve as a peace loving nation, Pakistan has now sought to take full ownership of the war on terror as its army has expressed its willingness to launch a larger military operation in North Waziristan. This was, in fact, the thrust of the argument as reflected in Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Ashfaq Pervez Kayani’s Independence Day speech, specifying that no country can afford a parallel system which is being interpreted in certain quarters as Army’s new found confidence not only in the terror- torn Pakistan but also in India being the worst sufferer of cross-border terrorism.
As he further said: “The fight against extremism and terrorism is our war and we are right in fighting it. Let there be no doubt about it, otherwise we will be divided and taken towards civil war. Our minds should be clear on this.” Obviously, this newly emerged clarity of mind in itself is the result of fiercest of terror attacks through which Pakistan had passed through in recent years witnessing great loss of precious and innocent human lives and properties. Indeed, the on-going spurt in terror activities in North Waziristan, a tribal area under influence of Haqqani network and also having presence of Al-Qaeda outfit, has become a headache for the US because of its proximity with Afghanistan wherefrom America wishes to withdraw its forces at the earliest. It is, therefore, not out of context that the US Secretary of Defence, Leon Panetta has aptly substantiated Gen. Kayani’s stand on the just preceding Monday: “The indication that we have is that they are prepared to conduct that operation soon.”
In fact, Pakistan has for years resisted any operation against the Haqqannis- who have never attacked Pakistan but were held responsible by the NATO for several major terror attacks inside Afghanistan- and this has been a major strain on the country’s relationship with America because Pakistan was wrongly alleged by it to have been providing safe haven to the Haqqannis with a view to ensuring a friendly dispensation in Kabul after the withdrawal of NATO forces.
The long stalemate over North Waziristan has apparently resulted in Washington’s biased reference about it as the “most delayed operation”. Whereas Pakistan has, so far, delayed a major and broadside operation against them as it remained preoccupied with fighting terror within the country and was unable to open too many fronts at a time due to serious concerns as regards its internal security. But now with the changed scenario in Pakistan due to new leaders assuming power after exit of the erstwhile P.M. Gilani, there is a fresh and firm resolve in Pakistan as evident in Gen. Kayani’s same speech: “We realise that the most difficult task for army is to fight against its own people. But this happens as a last resort.”
Perhaps with a view to launch an operation, Pakistan had recently asked the U.S. to seal the border along North Waziristan on the Afghan side to ensure that terrorists aligned to the Al-Qaeda and Haqqanni networks do not flee into Afghanistan in the eventuality of an operation against them. Against this backdrop, a likely large scale military offensive in the North Waziristan may prove to be a milestone towards fighting terrorism not only in Pakistan but also in the entire South Asia and in the whole world as well, in the interest of peace, security and prosperity.
Dr. Sudhanshu Tripathi
Asso. Prof., Political Science,
MDPG College, Pratapgarh (UP),
Residence- ABHIRAM House,
Naya Mal Godam Road, Narsinghbhanpur,
Pratapgarh(UP),
Pin- 230001,
INDIA,
Mob: 91-9838137686.
With regards.
Filiz Akgul

Can I have the phone number of the editorial department?

Best

Filiz