President Mubarak at the Second Arab Reform Conference
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Alexandria, 13 March 2005—President Hosni Mubarak spoke at the Second Arab Reform Conference held in Alexandria (13-15 March), and organized by the Arab Reform Forum at the Library of Alexandria. In his introductory speech, Ismail Serageldin, Director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, welcomed the President, the participants, and expressed his hope that the second round of the conference will be as successful as the first — the result of which was the Alexandria Declaration of 2004.
Following Serageldin’s introduction, the President gave a comprehensive speech where he emphasized the role the “Alexandria Declaration”, issued by the First Arab Reform Conference, played in enhancing inter-Arab cooperation and establishing “sound bases for democracy in the Arab world.” He also reminded the participants of the critical challenges the Arab world is facing now and said that “the Arab nation has taken [several] serious reform steps since the convening of the first reform conference, enhanced by the Arab Summit in Tunis and the declaration of the summit concerning development, modernization and reform in the Arab world.”
The President concluded by saying he was confident that “the Arab society with all its potential and resources will be able to adapt to world changes, as well as meeting the challenges imposed by the change, and making the best out of the opportunities and advantages provided by human development.”
Full text of Mubarak’s original speech (in Arabic)