Jon Davies

CAIRO - A GREAT PLACE TO TALK ABOUT DIFFICULT ISSUES

Cairo is coming to the end of another busy working week. The different rhythm of Ramadan and the respite of the Eid holiday are an increasingly faint memory as the pace really gets going again here.

Cairo and Egypt more generally continue to show the ability to get people together to talk - something which the Egyptians themselves love to do (as do we Welsh....). The Embassy played host this week to one such example. We were delighted to have a team here from Chatham House for two days of discussion and debate about Egypt, and also to launch the first special edition of International Affairs to focus on North Africa.  It was also an opportunity for us to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Foreign Office's Chevening Scholarships, and to involve some of the thousand or so Egyptians who have been part of the Chevening project .

Meanwhile the non-governmental International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament was meeting here, under the Chairmanship of former Foreign Ministers of Australia and Japan. From the initial informal readouts I heard last night, the forum had managed to bring together representatives from nations who sometimes find it difficult to talk in more formal surroundings. That shows, among other things, the positive power of civil society and NGOs.

They too have been a vital and positive element of the continuing progress towards an Arms Trade Treaty.  Having spent much of the week talking about conflict of one kind or another, but also the enormous opportunities in this and other regions if conflicts were resolved earlier or prevented, the logic for the Treaty seems ever clearer.

Finally, there's been quite a lot of reporting recently here about the violent behaviour of the so-called English Defence League. That behaviour has been condemned by our Government and many others. People in Britain want to work together to marginalise such extremist minorities, who do not represent the views of the majority who work hard to promote community cohesion and shared values. And what has been encouraging is to see the leadership demonstrated in urging young people not to respond with violence. People have the right to express their view in public. But this is a right that must be used responsibly, and it is unacceptable for protest to cross over into violence or intimidation.

Posted at 19:32 06 October 2009 by Jon Davies  |  Comments[0]