The "picturesque" spectacle of the fellahs scratching the Nilotic land with the same type of plaster as those painted during the Pharaoh's time on the walls of the mastabas should not be misleading. The legendary Egyptian immobilism is over. The modernization of the country is under way.
Rapid modernization
The creation of the Aswan High Dam has not only changed the Nile regime. By providing Upper Egypt with a reservoir of water commensurate with its enormous needs and the entire country with abundant energy resources, the commissioning of this colossal work ushered in an era of transformation that will bring Egypt from a state of underdevelopment to the economic situation of a modern state.
To this end, the development of the Libyan oases as part of the development of the New Valley, the cultivation of new irrigated land on the Mediterranean coast, in the Delta, south of Port Said, and on the Mediterranean coast of Sinai prefigure a considerably increased agri-food production. The long-standing project of irrigation of the Kattara depression by desalinated seawater may one day bring much needed food resources to Egyptian agriculture.
Dependence from abroad
Nevertheless, the rampant demography that Egypt is experiencing is increasing its population faster than food resources. Whatever it does, Egypt is condemned to import some of its food.
This dependence on foreigners implies an increase in foreign exchange sources. The balance of the trade balance is partly ensured by the profits from the tolls on the Suez Canal. Is the work of enlargement and deepening undertaken since 1978, tending to adapt the dimensions of the waterway to the size of the big tankers now used for transporting Arab oil to the consuming countries of Europe? West.
This same oil is also produced by Egyptian wells since positive drilling has made the shores of the Red Sea a new oil field. The export of domestic crude accounts for a sizable share of Egyptian currency resources, roughly equivalent to those of tourism. Nevertheless, the development of Egypt must necessarily go through industrialization.
The industrialization of Egypt
From an industrial point of view, the results are far from negative. In addition to the traditional textile and agro-food industries, new branches of production have been added in the recent period. The decisive input of energy from the Aswan High Dam and numerous thermal and atomic power plants has facilitated the development of major industrial projects. At present, the shores of the Red Sea and the surroundings of Lake Nasser in Upper Egypt are home to the steel, aluminum and manganese factories which foreshadow the heavy industry which the country will gradually acquire.
To limit the currency haemorrhage resulting from the national defense effort, Egypt has moved towards more peaceful diplomacy. It can begin to consider this enhancement of its territory that imposes its explosive demographics. His effort goes through the fight against illiteracy. The schooling of children, but also secondary and higher education remain vital objectives for the country. There is a special incentive for higher technical education. The engineers, the electronics engineers, the Egyptian chemists undoubtedly hold in them the future of their country.
