US embassy cable - 05CAIRO3953

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 003953 
 
SIPDIS 
 
WHITE HOUSE FOR THE FIRST LADY'S CHIEF OF STAFF (ANITA 
MCBRIDE) 
NEA FOR PDAS CHENEY 
NSC STAFF FOR POUNDS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OVIP, OTRA, PREL, EG, Visits 
SUBJECT: THE FIRST LADY'S VISIT TO EGYPT, MAY 23-24 
 
 
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Summary 
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1.  First Lady Laura Bush's May 23-24 visit to Egypt was a 
public diplomacy triumph and contributed significantly to USG 
efforts to promote education, reform, and the role of women. 
In Cairo, her visit included meetings with Egyptian First 
Lady Suzanne Mubarak and prominent female representatives of 
Egyptian civil society.  She toured a girls school and filmed 
a segment on promoting literacy on Alam Simsim, the Egyptian 
version of Sesame Street.  She highlighted Egypt's cultural 
heritage by taping the American morning shows in front of the 
Pyramids and by touring an archeological site.  In 
Alexandria, Mrs. Bush visited a school and the Bibliotheca 
Alexandrina.  Press coverage of the visit was generally 
positive.  End summary. 
 
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Meeting with Mrs. Mubarak 
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2.  After being greeted on arrival on May 23 by Mrs. Leila 
Kamal Eldin Salah, wife of Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed 
Aboul Gheit, Mrs. Bush proceeded to the Ittihadiyyah Palace 
for a brief private meeting with Mrs. Mubarak.  The two First 
Ladies were then joined by Mrs. Salah, the First Lady's Chief 
of Staff Anita McBride, NEA PDAS Liz Cheney, and Mrs. Connie 
Gray (wife of the Charge) for a meeting. 
 
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Alam Simsim Filming 
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3.  After meeting at the palace, Mrs. Bush and Mrs. Mubarak 
visited the set of Alam Simsim, the Egyptian version of 
Sesame Street.  Established with USAID funding in 1997, Alam 
Simsim focuses on the promotion of literacy and girls' 
education.  The two First Ladies filmed a segment with 
Khokha, the three-year-old female muppet, on the importance 
of reading.  The segment will be seen by Alam Simsim's 
viewership of eighty-five percent of Egyptian preschoolers 
and fifty-four percent of their mothers.  (The current season 
has ended, but the Ministry of Information may seek another 
opportunity to air the segment soon with the two First 
Ladies). 
 
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Morning Shows and Women's Lunch 
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4.  With the Sphinx and two of the Pyramids as a backdrop, 
Mrs. Bush participated in three American network morning 
shows and an interview with CNN.  At the nearby Mena House 
hotel, Mrs. Mubarak hosted Mrs. Bush for a lunch with 
prominent Egyptian women.  Attendees included the wives of 
ministers, leading academics, and senior representatives from 
the National Council of Women and the National Council for 
Childhood and Motherhood. 
 
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Visit to Girls School 
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5.  Next, Mrs. Bush and Mrs. Mubarak visited the Abu Sir Girl 
Friendly School in a rural area of the Giza Governorate to 
highlight the importance of providing educational 
opportunities to Egyptian girls previously kept out of school 
for social or economic reasons.   The Abu Sir School is a 
model for offering the opportunity for the girls to catch-up 
and eventually re-integrate into regular schools.  This 
unique school avoids rote learning and instead focuses on 
encouraging creative thinking.  As Mrs. Bush later remarked 
to Embassy staff and to Rod Eichler, the Managing Director of 
Apache Corporation, which funded the construction of the 
school, the Abu Sir School could be a model for 
re-introducing education to girls in Afghanistan. 
 
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Excavation Tour 
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6.  Mrs. Bush ended her day with a tour of a newly discovered 
excavation site with Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of 
the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities.  Statues found 
in the excavation lead archeologists to believe that the site 
has never been plundered by tomb raiders.  Mrs. Bush held a 
brief press availability at the site. 
 
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Civil Society Meeting 
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7.  The next morning (May 24), Mrs. Bush held a meet and 
greet with Embassy staff to thank them and their families for 
their government service.  Mrs. Bush met with prominent women 
activists, and her formal comments recognized the assembled 
women for their contributions to Egyptian society.  Mrs. Bush 
then departed Cairo for Alexandria. 
 
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Al-Seyouf School 
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8.  Mrs. Bush's first stop in Alexandria was at the Al-Seyouf 
school complex, a model participant in the Alexandria 
Governorate's school reform program and a recipient of USAID 
educational reform funding.  During the visit, she 
participated in an English language teaching demonstration, 
reviewed library research projects, and listened to 
instrumental and choral music performances.  The stop helped 
to publicize USG commitment to educational reform in a 
setting especially appropriate to the First Lady's background 
as a teacher and librarian. 
 
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Bibliotheca Alexandrina 
----------------------- 
 
9.  Mrs. Bush then proceeded to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, 
a massive complex including a library, academic research 
facilities, a conference center, and a variety of 
technologically-advanced cultural heritage preservation 
projects - i.e., the GOE's attempt at resurrecting the 
ancient library of Alexandria.  Her guided tour included the 
library stacks, an IT-enhanced project encouraging children 
to read, the antiquities and manuscripts collections, and an 
interactive, nine-screen historical and cultural video 
demonstration on Egypt.  The visit also included a stop at a 
display commemorating the 2004 signing of the Alexandria 
Declaration, a document calling for political and economic 
reform across the Arab world, and the First Lady's viewing of 
Islamic religious manuscripts and an electronic, interactive 
Qur'an. 
 
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Press Reactions 
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10.  On the evening of May 23, Nile TV reported on Mrs. 
Bush's visit to Alam Simsim and to the Abu Sir Girl Friendly 
School, emphasizing the First Lady's commitment to education 
for young girls and literacy.  The following day, Mrs. Bush's 
visits to Alam Simsim and Abu Sir School were replayed on 
Egyptian TV (ETV), along with her visit to the Pyramids and 
her comments at the site.  ETV reported on May 25 the First 
Lady's meeting with Egyptian women leaders at the U.S. 
Embassy, as well as her visits to a school in Alexandria and 
the Bibliotheca. 
 
11.  In its May 24 edition, Al-Ahram published a photo above 
the fold of Mrs. Bush and Mrs. Mubarak seated together under 
the headline: "Suzanne Mubarak Receives Laura Bush.  The Two 
Attend Taping of Children's Program."  The English-language 
Egyptian Gazette published a photo of the two First Ladies at 
Alam Simsim, seated at a table reading with the muppet 
character Khokha.  Photos of the two First Ladies at the 
Bibliotheca Alexandrina ran on May 25 with brief articles 
emphasizing the importance of women's role in society. 
Additional photos on May 25 in pro-government dailies 
Al-Ahram and Al-Akhbar showed Mrs. Bush visiting Al-Seyouf 
School and the Bibliotheca. 
 
 
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GRAY