Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05CAIRO3493
2005-05-09 16:33:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Cairo
Cable title:  

CODEL FRIST MAY 4-6 VISIT TO CAIRO: PRIME

Tags:  OREP PREL ECON EFIN EG 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 003493 

SIPDIS

FOR NEA, H, NEA/ELA
NSC STAFF FOR POUNDS
TREASURY FOR MILLS/NUGENT/PETERS
USAID FOR ANE/MEA MCCLOUD
COMMERCE FOR 4520/ITA/MAC/ANESA/TALAAT

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/09/2015
TAGS: OREP PREL ECON EFIN EG
SUBJECT: CODEL FRIST MAY 4-6 VISIT TO CAIRO: PRIME
MINISTER NAZIF REVIEWS ECONOMIC REFORM


Classified by Charge Gordon Gray for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 003493

SIPDIS

FOR NEA, H, NEA/ELA
NSC STAFF FOR POUNDS
TREASURY FOR MILLS/NUGENT/PETERS
USAID FOR ANE/MEA MCCLOUD
COMMERCE FOR 4520/ITA/MAC/ANESA/TALAAT

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/09/2015
TAGS: OREP PREL ECON EFIN EG
SUBJECT: CODEL FRIST MAY 4-6 VISIT TO CAIRO: PRIME
MINISTER NAZIF REVIEWS ECONOMIC REFORM


Classified by Charge Gordon Gray for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: Egyptian Prime Minister Nazif and Finance
Minister Boutros Ghali reviewed for CODEL Frist the GOE's
economic reform policies and plans, particularly regarding
tariff and income tax cuts. Nazif also described his efforts
to use information technology (IT) to boost Egypt's economy,
and emphasized the value he places on the U.S.-Egypt
relationship. End summary.


2. (SBU) Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) on May 5
called on Egypt Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif in Nazif's "Smart
Village" office. (Note: The Smart Village is a high-tech
business park on the outskirts of Cairo. End note.) Nazif
was accompanied by Finance Minister Youssef Boutros Ghali,
Internatinal Cooperation Minister Fayza Aboulnaga, Cabinet
Secretary General Dr. Sami Saad Zaghloul, and Spokesman Magdy

SIPDIS
Rady. Senator Frist was accompanied by the Charge; staff
members Mark Esper and Nick Smith; and ECPO Counselor
(notetaker).


3. (SBU) Nazif opened by noting the Smart Village setting
and went on to explain the state of the IT sector in Egypt.
He explained that Egypt was blessed by geography*its
location at the crossroads of Europe, Asia and Africa meant
that Egypt lies right in the path of major submarine fiber
optic cables, giving it access to more bandwidth than it can
use. Nazif explained the GOE's "Computer in Every Home"
program, through which Egyptians can purchase cheap PCs on
installment via their monthly phone bills, and its "free"
Internet service, which provides dial-up Internet connections
for just the cost of a local phone call. According to Nazif,
two million Egyptian households regularly access the
Internet. In response to a question from the Senator, Nazif
admitted that providing Internet access to Egyptian schools
was proving a challenge. The growth of Egypt's school age
population (50 percent of Egyptians are under 25) was

outpacing the GOE's ability to provide resources. Nazif also
bemoaned the dearth of Internet content in Arabic.


4. (SBU) Asked about economic reform, Nazif explained that
Egypt had begun an ambitious reform and privatization program
in the 1980s that stalled after the global economic downturn
prompted by the Asian financial crisis and the war to
liberate Kuwait. His new government, Nazif continued, has
reinvigorated economic reform by cutting tariffs,
jump-starting privatizations, and putting forward plans to
slash corporate and personal income taxes and reform the weak
financial sector. Nazif pointed to the explosive bull market
in the Cairo Alexandria Stock Exchange.


5. (C) Asked by Nazif to elaborate on the reform plans,
Boutros Ghali characterized his tax reform plan as one that
"Republicans would love." Income taxes have been simplified
and rates cut in half, Boutros Ghali said, adding that the
GOE planned to move to an income tax self-assessment system
like that in the U.S. Customs had been improved not simply
by cutting tariff rates, but by eliminating a plethora of
confusing exemptions. Simply eliminating exemptions allowed
Boutros Ghali to idle 7,000 exemption experts who had
previously been employed to verify importers' compliance with
myriad overlapping exemptions, he said. The idle experts
have been exiled to a Ministry of Finance "think tank" near
Cairo where, Boutros Ghali implied, they can do no harm.
Likewise, Boutros Ghali continued, he expected that moving to
income tax self-assessment would make redundant 39,000 tax
inspectors. In response to a question from the Senator,
Boutros Ghali said that Egypt has no capital gains or
inheritance taxes and no tax on dividends.


6. (C) Still to be tackled, Boutros Ghali said, are real
estate and value added taxes. VAT in particular needed
reform, Boutros Ghali said, as it suffers from too many rates
and inconsistent application. Nonetheless, Boutros Ghali
concluded, the result so far left him optimistic. He had
forecast a 40 percent fall in customs revenue after the
tariff cuts, but an increase in imports prompted by the cuts
and economic upswing meant customs revenues fell only 24
percent. Over time, Boutros Ghali said, he expects customs
revenue to all only 10 ) 15 percent due to the tariff cuts.


7. (C) Turning to political reform and regional issues,
Nazif stressed the value he placed on Egypt's ties to the
U.S. He noted President Bush's statements on political
reform and asserted that the GOE has ambitious plans in that
regard. Regarding the peace process, Nazif stressed that it
was important for the international community to support the
Palestinian economy vigorously. He said that Egyptian
business is ready to invest in Palestine "if the environment
is right". Minister Aboulnaga added that the Japanese and
Italian governments had already had discussions with the GOE
on working together to boost the Gaza economy.


8. (U) CODEL Frist did not have an opportunity to clear this
message before departing Cairo.


Visit Embassy Cairo's Classified Website:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/cairo

You can also access this site through the
State Department's Classified SIPRNET website.

GRAY