There are a few times in history where you can literally see a new era arrive.  Whether it was President John F. Kennedy saying, “It is not what your country can do for you.  It is what can you do for your country.”; President Ronald W. Reagan saying, “Tear down this wall.”; or now President Barack H. Obama speaking in the heart of the Muslim Arab world saying,”There must be a sustained effort to listen to each other; to learn from each other; to respect one another; and to seek common ground.”  Words are words and possibly inspire actions.  However, it is the actions that are monumental and require everyone to participate.

President Obama’s visit is a pivotal event in our relations.  His visit and speech will be studied for generations.

Not even a month after President Obama’s visit to Cairo, the U.S. and Egyptian business community announced new trade agreements in Washington, D.C.   The American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt, the Business Council for International Understanding and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce hosted His Excellency Dr. Tarek Kamel, Minister of Communications and Information Technology of Egypt and Mr. Aneesh Chopra, Chief Technology Officer of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to recognize the new era and concretely new high tech business agreements.  These agreements build on the current success of the Smart Villages in Egypt and the growth opportunities in the high tech industry.  For a point of reference, the cell phone industry alone – has 1,000,000 new customers a month.  With strong relations, creating new economic opportunities is possible and is a win win for all partners.

One visit, one speech – a new era is possible.