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Chinese President Hu Jintao will pay a state visit to Egypt from Thursday to Sunday at the invitation of his Egyptian counterpart, Hosni Mubarak. Following is a sketch of the Arab Republic of Egypt:
Bordering Libya on the west, Sudan on the south, the Red Sea and the Gaza Strip on the east, and the Mediterranean Sea on the north, Egypt covers an area of 1,001,450 square kilometers, including the Sinai Peninsula.
With Cairo as its capital, Egypt has 26 administrative divisions or governorates, and a population of 74,718,797 (July 2003).
The regularity and richness of the annual Nile River flood, coupled with semi-isolation created by deserts to the east and west, allowed for the development of one of the world's great civilizations.
A unified kingdom arose about 3200 BC and a series of dynasties ruled Egypt for the next three millennia. In 341 BC, the last native dynasty fell to the Persians, who in turn were replaced by Greeks, Romans, and Byzantines.
It was the Arabs who brought in Islam and the Arabic language in the 7th century and ruled the country for the next six centuries. The Mamluks, a local military caste, took control in about 1250 and continued to govern the country after its conquest by the Ottoman Turks in 1517.
Following the completion of the Suez Canal in 1869, Egypt became an important world transportation hub, but was also plunged into heavy debt. In an ostensible move to protect its investments, Britain seized control of the Egyptian government in 1882.
On Feb. 28, 1922, Egypt gained partial independence from Britain, and managed to acquire full sovereignty on July 23, 1952, which was the origin of the country's national holiday, the Revolution Day.
Egyptian is the country's major nationality, while its ethnic groups include Greek, Nubian, Armenian and other Europeans. Ninety-four percent of the country's religious population is Muslim, mostly Sunni, and Arabic is the official language, with English and French being widely understood by educated people.
President Mubarak has been head of state since Oct. 14, 1981. According to the law, the Egyptian cabinet is appointed by the president, who in turn is nominated by the People's Assembly for a six-year term. The nomination must then be validated by a national popular referendum, which was last held on Sept. 26, 1999. The next one will be held in Oct. 2005.
Egypt abounds in petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, manganese and other natural resources. Over the past decade, the country improved its macroeconomic performance by following the advice from the International Monetary Fund on its fiscal, monetary, and structural reform policies.
As a result, Egypt managed to tame inflation, slash budget deficits and attract more foreign investment. The pace of reform, however, has slackened over the past four years, and excessive spending on national infrastructure projects has again widened budget deficits.
Lower foreign exchange earnings since 1998 resulted in pressure on the Egyptian pound and periodic shortages in US dollars. Monetary pressures have also mounted since Sept. 11, 2001 due to declines in tourism and Suez Canal tolls. Egypt has since devalued the pound several times. Analysts see the development of a gas export market as a major bright spot for the country's growth prospects.
(Xinhua News Agency January 29, 2004)
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