Secretary of State Antony Blinken said his recent discussions with young people in Egypt made him optimistic about the future.
“Enjoyed hearing from these young Egyptian leaders who are promoting our shared values and strengthening our important bilateral relationship—this makes me optimistic about our future,” Blinken said in a tweet.
Blinken visited American University in Cairo on Jan. 29, at the start of a three-day trip to the Middle East. Blinken and Randa Abul Azm, bureau chief of Al Arabiya Cairo, spoke to students and others during the forum, A Conversation with Rising Egyptian Leaders; the DOS shared a transcript of Blinken's remarks.
The university was Blinken's first stop in Egypt, he said, a deliberate choice, because the strategic partnership with Egypt is important to the U.S., and that partnership will be dependent on the efforts of the students at the university and those they represent.
"Sixty percent of the population in Egypt, of course, is 25 years old or younger," Blinken said in his remarks. "So this is an incredibly dynamic and youthful place."
Engaging with every sector of Egyptian society, and "especially the rising generation," is important, Blinken said, "because, quite literally, you will be the ones making this country and you will be the ones who are carrying forward the relationship with the United States."
Blinken said it is "vitally important" for those currently in position of power to ask questions, listen to others and develop new and different ways to achieve progress in areas such as climate change, equitable and sustainable economic growth, and global concerns such as access to health care and food insecurity, "(a)ll of these things I know are front and center in your own concern and your own thinking."
Having the opportunity to hear directly from younger Egyptians was important to him, Blinken said in the transcript, because the U.S. wants "to know what’s on your minds, what you’re thinking about, what you’re concerned about, and how you’re looking at things."
"Just because we’ve done something one way for the last 50 years doesn’t mean we need to do it the same way for the next 50 years," Blinken said.
