Egypt marks today the 11th anniversary of the June 30 Revolution, one of the greatest acts of civil disobedience in Egypt’s history, having stemmed from Egyptians’ sense of responsibility.
It was a defining moment in the history of this precious homeland, when the Egyptian people chose the future they seek for their sons and grandsons.
They chose the modern civil state with its tolerant national Egyptian identity that is open to the world.
On track
The June 30 Revolution has put Egypt back on track socially, economically and at the level of security.
The largest development process has been launched in Egypt’s history over the past decade.
“This process succeeded in improving living standards and upgrading public services,” Minister of Finance Mohamed Maeet said in recent remarks.
He added that the development projects implemented in various fields nationwide are unprecedented, describing them as “conclusive evidence” that Egypt is moving on the right track.
Egyptians, he said, are now reaping the fruits of the economic reforms launched by President Abdel Fattah El Sisi over the past few years.
Turning point
The June 30 Revolution was not just an uprising to overthrow a regime that was rejected by the people, but rather a revolution to recover the identity of a nation, correct its course, and build a new modern state.
The revolution has embodied the greatness of Egypt, its history and civilisation and united all the spectra of its people and institutions, to get Egypt out of the dark tunnel in which it was walking.
This popular revolution was a turning point between two eras. It was a dividing line between a year of political failure, mismanagement, false promises, deteriorating economy, loss of confidence and credibility in the state, instability and the absence of vision, on one hand, and a state, according to the testimony of all international institutions, that is on the right path, representing a success story that has a clear vision for the future, on the other.
This June 30 Revolution also divided between a year of political failure and a state aiming to achieve a raft of infrastructural projects in many fields, including agriculture, roads, housing, industry, electricity, education, health, oil, ports and transport.
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Egypt has faced and is still facing numerous challenges due to the global economic crises.
Thanks to the successes of the June 30 Revolution, which restored the spirit and the strength of the Egyptian state, Egypt is able to overcome these challenges and complete its path to achieve Vision 2030 of growth, development and a decent life.
Since assuming office in June 2014, President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has been keen to build a new republic and has filled the capital and other governorates with construction work and other development projects that directly and positively affected citizens’ lives.
The Sisi administration has executed development projects in all fields to improve health, education, housing, transport, water and energy services.
Eradicating dangerous slums
President Sisi was keen to provide adequate housing for citizens through the development of unsafe and unplanned areas, the construction of new integrated urban cities, and the establishment of housing units in already existing cities, in line with Vision 2030.
Over the course of ten years of hard work, the state has managed to transfer the residents of slums to new developed and civilised areas that have the elements of stable, safe and decent life.
This contributed to declaring Egypt free of dangerous slums, and prompted major international institutions to praise the Egyptian experience in this file.
New smart cities
Egypt has drawn up a number of comprehensive plans to build 30 new fourth-generation cities in the coming years to house the country’s growing population, provide residents with high-quality amenities, create investment and reduce pressure on existing cities.
These projects include the New Administrative Capital, New Alamein City, East Port Said, New Mansoura, New Ismailia, El Galala, New Sheikh Zayed, October Oasis, West Beni Suef, New Mallawi, Nasser (West Assiut), West Qena and New Toshka.
According to the Ministry of Housing, fourth-generation cities are planned urban developments that integrate advanced infrastructure and ICT technologies.
Achievements in gas, oil
Over the past decade, Egypt’s petroleum sector has achieved a qualitative leap, enabling it to become a regional energy hub.
During this period, Egypt has witnessed a qualitative shift in natural gas production, reaching unprecedented levels. This has contributed to meeting household needs, developing industrial sector, and increasing electricity generation.
The Ministry of Petroleum has recently launched the two largest projects in the petrochemical industry with investments totalling roughly $4 billion. These projects are the Misr Fertilisers Production Company MOPCO complex in Damietta and Egyptian Ethylene and Derivatives Company (ETHYDCO) in Alexandria, as part of the state’s efforts to develop oil infrastructure.
Health
The health sector in Egypt has witnessed a remarkable development over the past few years, both in terms of investments made by the state or the initiatives that have been launched. The state has succeeded in establishing and developing many hospitals nationwide.
The year 2023 witnessed a very important event, which is the elimination of the virus C, as the World Health Organisation handed Egypt a certificate free of the C virus, as the first country in the world to eliminate and defeat this virus, thanks to the ‘One Hundred Million Healthy Lives’ initiative, which was launched by President Sisi in 2019.
Empowering women
Over a decade, the political leadership has been establishing strong bases for empowering women, according to a report prepared by MENA on the 11th anniversary of the 30 June Revolution.
Women’s empowerment has become an integral part of the state’s policy to improve living conditions in the country, given that women play an effective role in achieving comprehensive and sustainable development in any nation.
The government successfully launched Tamkeen (empowerment) programme in partnership with the National Council for Women, the United Nations, the European Union and the embassies of Spain and Italy to support women’s opportunities and rights in different fields and a wide range of sectors and activities.
The programme has also contributed to helping women hold leading positions at work, in addition to raising awareness on issues related to their empowerment and defending their rights.
Women have enjoyed unprecedented support under President Sisi, who has been adamant on backing women to have further economic empowerment, in addition to providing them with training in numerous fields to help the country build an economically prosperous, sustainable future, the report said.
Global praise
International Financial Institutions, like the World Bank, have hailed Egypt’s success for implementing its ambitious National Programme for Economic Reform since 2016, achieving economic stability and restoring confidence in the Egyptian economy. In fact, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) cited Egypt as one of the few emerging market economies that experienced positive growth rates in 2020, despite the Covid-19 pandemic, owing to the government’s swift and prudent policy response.
Moreover, a recently published World Bank report praised Egypt’s pioneering experience in providing social protection programmes, being one of the few MENA countries to build a shock-responsive system that delivers income support to the poor.
Tribute to police, military personnel
President Sisi greeted the Egyptian people on the 11th anniversary of the revolution.
“History has shining days like stars that illuminate the hours of darkness, dispel the inky darkness of tyranny, light up the way for the walkers and usher them to the right path, and on top of these memorable days, June 30, 2013, when the Egyptian people rise up in revolt against those who attempt to undermine their homeland, expressing their explicit rejection of injustice, sectarianism and tyranny,” the president said in recent statements.
He also paid tribute to the police and military personnel for their role in the fierce fight against terrorism, along with sacrificing their lives for the sake of protecting homeland.
President Sisi stressed that the current generation of Egyptians have become stronger to bear responsibility for building the country after facing several challenges.
The current generation also played important roles to bring about stability, security and development after suffering from chaos and instability.
