Infitah
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Infitah is an Arabic word meaning "open door" and refers to Egyptian President Anwar Sadat "opening the door" to private investment in Egypt. In the years following the October War with Israel in 1973, Sadat brought a number of reforms to Egypt, the most famous of which was making Egypt the first Arab country to recognize Israel's sovereignty. He also instituted economic reforms that ended the domination of Egypt's economy by the public sector and encouraged both domestic and foreign investment in the private sector, a policy dubbed infitah.
In the years following the October War, three schools of thought emerged in Egypt: the Marxists favored continuing the socialist trends that had developed in Egypt under the Soviet Union's influence, while a smaller group favored free market capitalism; prior to Sadat's election, the statists, proponents of the command economy with limited private investment, dominated the political scene. Sadat's infitah policy was heavily influenced by the free-market philosophy while still retaining some socialistic elements. It was not only ideologically but also politically motivated: by aligning himself with the West and with the rich and powerful members of Egyptian society, Sadat differentiated himself from the Nasser era while at the same time securing his position in power. For more information, see Anwar Sadat.
