1. There are accusations against the Foundation and against other international foundations that it intervene in the political parties affairs and supports certain trends, what is the truth of these accusations? What is the objective of the Foundation's mission statement in the region?

While I have heard about these accusations, nobody has come to me and accused me or my Foundation of intervening in political party affairs and supporting certain trends. I wish to make it very clear: this is neither our objective nor our practice. However, as a Foundation that promotes political education we appreciate to work with individuals who participate in public life and in politics. Many of the participants of seminars my Foundation sponsors are supporters and also members of political parties. As a liberal Foundation, of course, we prefer to work with members of liberal parties. However, we have not interfered and we will not interfere in the internal political affairs of any Egyptian institution – be it a party, an NGO or any other organization.

The second part of your question: we have stated the objectives of our programs very clearly in our publications, and I am happy to reiterate them here: Our main aim is to promote liberal ideas and concepts and to strengthen civil society and liberal political parties. We also wish to create platforms of political dialogue between liberal people and organizations in this part of the world and Europe, particularly Germany. All this, we do through educative programs. In short, we are an international liberal educative institute that deals with political and also social and economic matters.

2. The Foundation is the arm of the German liberal party – Is your mission statement to support liberalism in the region? Do you see that the region is prepared now to move towards liberalism? Which country in the region is capable of leading the liberal movement?

No, this is a wrong information. The Friedrich Naumann Foundation is not the arm of the liberal party of Germany. We are an independent institute that is funded by public funds given to us by allocation of the Federal German Parliament. However, as a liberal institute we have close ideological relations to liberal politicians and also the liberal party in Germany. But we do not take orders from anyone. As I said before, our main objective is to promote liberalism: in Germany, in Europe and in 60 other countries in the world through educative programs. In my opinion, liberalism is just as important in Egypt and in the other Arab nations as it is in other parts of the world. The problem with liberalism – which basically is the idea of freedom -, is that many people here believe it is a foreign concept that is not suitable for them. But this is a wrong notion, just as wrong as to say that democracy is not suitable for Arabs. The people who say such things are afraid of democracy and freedom. As the biggest nation in the Arab world, important social and cultural developments in the Arab world originate in Egypt. This said, I hope that also regarding the liberal movement Egypt one day will take the lead.

3. From your follow up of the parliamentarian and local elections in the countries in the region, what is the evaluation of the Foundation of these elections? Are these elections really democratic or the intervention of the administration makes it not?

The Foundation as an institute does not make official comments on political developments in the host countries. Therefore, you will not find an official evaluation about the elections – be they local or national. However, as a senior member of the Foundation I am entitled to have – and also share with you - a personal opinion: Elections are the heart of democracy, and therefore a very important act in the life of a nation. Elections are not only about electing the leadership, they must also give the people the chance to choose who should lead them. My liberal Egyptian friends argue that often the results of the elections are known before the ballots open. This implies that the quality of the electoral process could be improved. Certainly, the low rate of public participation in the election is an indication that many Egyptians do not take the process seriously. From a democratic and also liberal point of view this is a big problem.

4. How do you see the German Egyptian relationship through the work of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation? Do German projects in Egypt grow and develop?

The relations between Egypt and Germany are very solid, deep and also friendly. The Foundation has been present in Egypt for forty years and, although we are a small institute we consider ourselves a part of a stable network of bilateral cooperation and partnership. In today’s world, relationships between modern countries are not limited to the meetings of government officials and economic exchanges. In the modern world the cooperation of cultural actors, scientists and even athletes play an important role also. In this network, we promote the cooperation and networking of liberal people and their organizations. Over the years, we have sponsored thousands of Egyptians to visit Germany and Europe. We aim at bringing together young Egyptian and European liberals. We consider this to be our contribution to the partnership and the friendship of our two nations.

5. What are the areas of good cooperation between Egypt and Germany in your vision which could be activated in the next stage?

The relations between Cairo and Berlin are very good on a political level, and – according to our diplomats – are growing every year. Germany is a country with many high tech-products and I have the impression that Egyptians have a high regard for this quality. But, for me, more important than economic cooperation is the people-to-people relationship. I believe more can and should be done to bring Egyptians and Germans together – students, young people, artists, musicians etc. After all, we are neighbors – and as neighbors we should move closer.

6. Friedrich Naumann Foundation issues many publications on democracy and development and other important topics, who benefit from them?

Basically, our educative programs are open to all Egyptian who are interested in them. On the other hand, all our activities are organized by local partners, usually NGOs. And in the end these Egyptian institutions select the participants; also in this regard we do not interfere. So my answer would be that the participants of the programs we sponsor benefit from them. But, in the end, we hope that the groups and organizations the participants belong to, may benefit, although it is rather difficult to measure the impact educational programs have.

7. You organize many seminars and conferences, what are the objectives? Did the Egyptians benefit from them?

I certainly hope they did. I have heard from many mainly young Egyptians that they have learned a lot in activities sponsored by the Foundation. Education is always beneficial – for the individuals involved and for society. Our contribution is small, but for people interested in liberalism, I think it is important..

8. What are your impressions about Egypt and the Egyptians after you have dealt with them in conferences, seminars and meetings with political elites?

Probably the biggest surprise for me since coming to Egypt one and a half years ago is the great number of liberal Egyptians I meet and the high quality of their political dialogue. It is absolutely wrong to assert that Egyptians – or even Arabs – are opposed to the liberal ideas. Egyptians are just as much interested in freedom, democracy, human rights, the rule of law, good governance and social progress as other peoples in other parts of the world. To say they are not would come close to racialism. The challenge for the Egyptian liberals – this I have understood speaking and listening to many Egyptians – is to find a definition of liberalism that is acceptable to the people on the “street”. We hope to deal with this challenge in future seminars and conferences in Egypt and other Arab countries.