A newsletter issued by the Information Committee, No.87 - Thursday, 23-6-2011
  RDP Members Attend National Democratic Institute Celebration  
  Ms. Reham Sabry, Ms. Rania Farouk and Ms. Brigitte Azmy participated in the celebration hosted by the National Democratic Institute, celebrating the opening of its new headquarters.
The celebration included some of the past activities of the Institute and what may be beneficial to the political parties in the coming period, through its cooperation with the Institute based on its significant expansion whether in Cairo or in the provinces.
During the celebration, the members of the party displayed the party’s view about the political and general issues which concern women in the coming period.
 
  RDP Hosts Seminar: "Sectarian Strife between Reality and Pretense"  
  The Secretariat of training and culture carried out a seminar entitled "Sectarian Strife between Reality and Pretense", in which the political activists, Dr. Kamal Zakher, Mr. Gamal Assad and writer Ahmed Soliman lectured in the presence of Mr. Anwar El-Sadat, Founders Representative of RDP, and others.
The seminar presented the problem of sectarian strife which is awakened every now and then in Egypt.
Topics discussed included the role of media, education and culture in religious tension and the burden it transfers to citizens, and finally the lack of unified citizenship beyond sectarian identity.
 
  Party Members Learn to Build Candidates’ Capabilities  
  Ms. Fayza Ahmed, Mr. Tarek El-Rakhawy and Mr. Essam Anwar Shaker attended a workshop about election campaigns and building the capacity of the candidates.
The workshop was organized by the “Hand in Hand” organization.
Lectures were given by Mr. Adel Esmat, a consultant and political analyst. The workshop was four days and took place at Pyramisa. A number of representatives from different parties and independents participated in the workshop. In another context, Mr. Essam Anwar Shaker participated in a workshop on how to prepare successful election campaigns organized by the National Democratic Institute which was attended by a large number of political activists and representatives of political parti.
 
 
 
  The Merge of RDP with Masrena Party headed by Ramy Lakkah  
  Anwar Esmat El-Sadat founders' representative of the Reform and Development Party and Ramy Lakkah founders' representative of Masrena Party (under formation) have both announced in a meeting hosting a number of the founders from both parties, that the two parties have been finally merged so that the members from both parties will be now working under one unified umbrella called "Reform & Development - Masrena Party”.
This step is considered to be the first official merger in Egypt so far, after widespread alliances between parties and political movements which insist on maintaining independence of parties, thereby leading to the override of voters' right to choose their own nominees in elections.
During the meeting it was agreed that Mr. Ramy Lakkah will head the party for the 2-year transitional period, according to the regulations of Egypt's political parties' system. For the time being the executive office and the party's supreme body (which will be formed soon) are being setup. Both of these bodies will contain a number of members from both parties as well as representatives from governorates around Egypt.
 
  El-Sadat Calls Public Parliament and Political Forces to Visit UAE  
  Mr. Anwar Esmat El-Sadat calls the Public Parliament and political and national forces to promptly visit UAE to strengthen our extended relationship.
The call for renewed relations stems from the belief that Egypt belongs to the Arab world, and to expand the development of bilateral relations, and to maintain the security of Gulf countries as it is considered a part of Egyptian national security.
El- Sadat stressed that the UAE’s worries related to Egyptian-Iranian relations, as well as the issuance of certain judgments against some businessmen, they are in need for some assurance and security especially during the current period of regional instability.
El-Sadat added that despite our preoccupation with internal issues, we must not neglect the external role of Egypt.
We must encourage and support the Gulf to increase their investments and inject new investments for expansion, either in existing projects or to establish new projects under the Egyptian-Emirati compatibility.