Board of trusties of Egypt's National Dialogue to announce schedule of sessions in press conference Tuesday

CAIRO – 5 July 2022: The board of trusties of the National Dialogue is holding its first meeting Tuesday, and it will be followed by a press conference where the schedule of the National Dialogue sessions will be announced.

The board of trusties consists of 19 members, who are members of the House of Representatives Ahmed al-Sharqawy and Amira Saber; Editor-in-Chief of Al Ahram Al Araby Gamal al-Keshky; Former Minister of Social Solidarity and Economics Professor at Cairo University Gouda Abdel Khaleq; International Relations Professor at Cairo University Riham Bahi; Politics Researcher and Writer Samir Morqos; Chair of the General Union of NGOs and Parliamentarian Talaat Abdel Qawy; Journalist and Member of the Senate Emad El Din Hussein; Deputy Head of Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies Amr Hashem Rabie; Journalist Fatema al-Sayed Ahmed; Coordinator of the Arab Network of Feminist Civil Society Fatema Khafaga; Businessman kamal Zayed; President of the National Council for Women Maya Morsi; Writer and Journalist Mohamed Salmawy; Head of Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies Mohamed Fayez Farahat; Professor of Journalism at Cairo University Mahmoud Alam El Din; Civil Rights Lawyer Negad al-Borai; and, Professor of Commercial and Maritime Laws at Cairo University Hani Sari El Din.

General Coordinator of the Egyptian National Dialogue Diaa Rashwan, who is the head of the Journalists Syndicate, had noted that participation in the national political dialogue is not limited to the invitees only, saying that members of the public can send their ideas and suggestions by email.

The board of trustees of the National Dialogue was appointed on June 26, after a 20-day consultation among politicians, trade union officials, and political parties’ members and representatives participating in this dialogue.

The National Dialogue was invited by President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi in April, when he directed the administration of the National Youth Conference to collaborate with all political parties and youth political groups, to conduct a political dialogue on the priorities of national actions amid the current global crises.

President Sisi reiterated on Sunday - in a meeting with press - that the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood would not be represented in the dialogue for it is designated terrorist organization.

In September, the national human rights strategy was launched with the aim to make the public sphere more inclusive. As such, hundreds of inmates, including dozens of human rights activists, have recently been released by the Presidential Pardon Committee.