The African Peer Review Mechanism, APRM, was introduced by the African Union, AU, in 2002. It was meant to be one of tools to gage the efforts of the national governments in the continent towards good governance. Countries in the West African sub-region embraced the APRM but the Arab countries in North Africa tended to be sceptical to the system.
Last week, however, the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, indicated his country’s readiness to undertake its first APRM process.
President el-Sisi told the Vice-Chairman of the APRM Panel of Eminent Persons, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, who visited him in Cairo that “Egypt is ready to demonstrate to the world its commitment towards good governance. We will open ourselves to the APRM process without interference and will maintain the integrity of the process. We pledge our utmost assurance and support to the peer review process. We hope the resultant Country Report is objective and reflects the realities in Egypt”.
Professor Gambari enthused that “Egypt is a very strategic country in the region. Being the host of the League of Arab States and submitting itself for review sends out a clear message of its commitment to good governance and improving the lives of the Egyptian people. I therefore encourage all stakeholders who will be involved in the Support Mission to engage in frank and progressive dialogues”.
The Vice-Chairman of the Panel further pledged that the APRM will provide the country with all the support it needs during the review process, especially given that Egypt will be the first country to pilot the use of the electronic questionnaire in its APRM process.
The Support Mission is expected to consult with various stakeholders including the Egyptian Prime Minister as well as ministers, president of the national governing council, private sector actors, civil society structures and further provide training to Technical Research Institutions (TRI’s). The meeting was also attended by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility, Sameh Shoukrya and APRM representatives.
