Deputy Minister Olav Kjørven

Formalization of Business and Real Estate in Egypt

Cairo, 18 January 2004

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure for me to be in Egypt. Although this is my first visit I, like so many others around the world, have grown up with stories in which Egypt played a central role.

As a schoolboy I learned about ancient Egypt, the cradle of civilisation. I had a wonderful teacher who made the ancient Egyptians come alive.

Perhaps even more importantly, Egypt had a spiritual significance as well. Bible stories played an important role in my childhood home, and I well remember the story of Joseph and his coat of many colours. I remember how his 11 brothers were all saved by Egypt, where the grain harvests had been stored during the good years, so that when famine came the Egyptians were able to share with the peoples of neighbouring lands. Otherwise they would have starved to death.

Then there was the story of Moses. The exodus from Egypt. Liberation from bondage. This story cast Egypt in a somewhat different light. But I have always had some sympathy with the Egyptians. Perhaps because I am a Norwegian, with a ruthless Viking heritage, I felt a certain kinship. Or perhaps because I feel sorry for Pharaoh and his people, who were so harshly punished. After all, other nations have got away with worse things.

Just a few months ago I had the pleasure of visiting another proud and ancient country, namely Peru. I got to see Cuzco, the capital of the Inca empire, with a culture going far back in history. There are even pyramids in Peru, as you all know.

In other words, there are some fascinating similarities between the old civilisations of Egypt and Peru. Where does Norway fit into this picture? Our culture is quite young compared with your nations. But one of the main theories of the late Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl was that the oceans have always been routes of contact and exchange rather than barriers between peoples and civilisations. His Kon Tiki expedition showed that contact between South America and the Polynesian cultures might have been possible. Later he built a boat made of papyrus here in Egypt, the Ra, and tried to sail it to the Americas. The first attempt failed but the second succeeded, showing that here, too, contact might have been possible. We don’t know if there was any, but if so, it could help explain some similarities between the cultures, like pyramid building.

Now, in 2004 and in this room, we are witnessing a new kind of contact between the ancient lands of Egypt and Peru. I am confident that this time the chances are good that the contact might have a serious impact. Positive impact. In fact, this encounter could be of historic significance. Here in Egypt that says a lot.

You may ask, what am I doing here? What does Norway have to do with today’s discussions?

The main reason I’m here is that I made a decision many years ago that I would dedicate my life to a specific cause: I would be part of the struggle against poverty in the world. No more, no less. You may ask, what made a young Norwegian decide on something like that, living in an affluent society with plenty of exciting opportunities more close to home? The truth is I can’t tell you exactly. But I think it had something to do with the stories I grew up with, like the one about Joseph. And as far as excitement is concerned, it was a wise decision. It got me to Cuzco! And now, finally, to Egypt.

It may seem ridiculous to claim that I am here today – at a lush Cairo hotel where poverty is as invisible as in my office back home in Norway – because of my explicit commitment to the fight against poverty. Nevertheless, it’s true. Because formalisation of the extralegal economy has everything to do with the poverty challenge.

Right now, today as well as yesterday and tomorrow, there are plenty of important international meetings going on around the world, including meetings on development and poverty eradication. In my view, however, by far the most important of these meetings is this one, here today. This meeting is right on the cutting edge of what fighting poverty must be all about in the coming years. This meeting is addressing "the crux of the matter", as one of my colleagues told me the other day. He had been working in the field of development for the last 25 years.

And all of you friends from Egypt and Peru are showing the way forward. Just read today’s leading journals and reports on development and judge for yourself. What you are preparing here in Cairo is a set of fundamental reforms that promise to do what Nobel Laureate in Economics, Amartya Sen, has talked about: expanding peoples’ choices. Giving people the freedom to determine their own destiny – people here in Egypt and in so many other countries. Dr Sen has even defined development as freedom.

Moses went to Pharaoh and said, "Let my people go". Today, millions are looking for opportunities in far away places because they’re not finding them at home. They, like the ancient Hebrews, want to go. This project is about giving people a chance to flourish where they are, to find the promised land at home.

The poor all over the planet are yearning for the opportunity to participate freely in the modern world. To benefit from globalisation instead of being punished or excluded. But the barriers they face must be removed. There are many kinds of barriers, and you are addressing some of the most important ones. Barriers to secure tenure, to owning property, to undertaking transactions openly and freely. Barriers to exercising inalienable human rights, such as enjoying economic autonomy. Barriers to engaging with state or local authorities without fear of losing what is theirs or having to pay heavy bribes. Removing such barriers is essential not only for a life in dignity for individuals living in poverty but also for creating a more vibrant and robust economy that will benefit all citizens, no matter how rich or poor they are.

What is more, this must be done if we are to create a more stable and peaceful world for all of us. The world is already so interconnected, we are all so interdependent. In such a world it is both disgraceful and untenable that such a large share of our global citizenry is denied the rule of law, the opportunity to participate. This must change. You, here today, are making a key contribution by discovering how to remove some of the principal obstacles standing in the way of broad social inclusion in Egypt. There is no other place I’d rather be today than right here.

I’m also here to learn. No, I’m here to steal. Steal from your insights so that others can also benefit. Of course, it would be even better if we could take not just the ideas with us to other parts of the world, but you as well. Because once you have gained experience here in Egypt you will be the best qualified experts by far to help others.

It so happens that we in Norway have been lucky enough to have developed some institutions, some instruments and some approaches that work very well in making property rights broadly accessible and property transactions easy to undertake under the rule of law. In fact, some people consider our system to be one of the best. I therefore hope that we can share some of our experience, both here in Egypt and elsewhere. That would be a good thing. But that is not the principal reason why I’m here. Norway is not the focus of attention here today. You are.

If you achieve the goals you have set yourselves, you will be making a key contribution to the fight against poverty here in Egypt, in the Middle East, and in the entire world. May this visionary project succeed. May God bless all of you.

Thank you for your attention.