President Mohamed Morsy on the country’s future

We will begin a new phase in Egypt’s history and close the page on an abhorrent chapter. We will rewrite a story of glory that echoes back to our wondrous past, a history that belongs to the millennia when Egypt went through eras of prosperity. We will work to avoid reviving the eras of weakness and hardship, for Egypt shall never turn back to what it once was.

The Egyptian people have imposed their will and sovereignty. For the first time in modern history, they have been able to pursue their full authority through an elected parliament, a Shura council, thanks to free and fair elections that provided a true representation of all of Egypt’s diverse communities.

The parliament has chosen a constituent assembly to draft a new constitution for our nation. The assembly has begun its work on this, and will ensure that the constitution is able to both express the will of the people and unite the nation under a modern constitutional democracy, while also preserving the identity of its citizens and its society, and safely guarding public and private freedom.

We will have a constitution based on justice and truth, a constitution that protects the law and its independence, one that unleashes freedom of thought, expression and innovation, all while ensuring social justice and propelling Egypt forward.

The Supreme Council of Armed Forces has fulfilled its promise and oath, and now has allowed the elected institutions to go back and serve their functions, permitting the army to return its attention to its primary mandate: the protection of the security and borders of this country. I salute the effort the military has exerted and their ability to overcome the challenges that they have faced throughout this difficult period.

Rebuilding this country is our responsibility. We cannot wait, for Egypt needs every able hand to participate in our reconstruction. A nation cannot achieve its renaissance without the support of its citizens and the productive cooperation of both society and the country’s institutions. The development of the nation’s institutions and civil society must effectively collaborate on each and every issue.

There is a great need to eliminate the traces of disorder in all aspects of our society, and most especially when it comes to the economy, in which the old regime caused chaos. We will work on encouraging investments and restoring tourism – both of which will be of a great benefit to our economy and indeed to every single citizen in Egypt. We have to achieve social justice in every sense of the word to bring stability and security to Egyptian society.

We carry a message of peace to the world. We will assure respect for all of our existing treaties and agreements, even as Egypt with all of its institutions stands hand-in-hand with the Palestinian people. We will also work on bringing about reconciliation between Palestinians, so that they might stand together in unity to achieve a peaceful life.

Egyptians do not export revolutions and we do not interfere in anyone else’s affairs, just as we do not allow anyone to interfere in our own. We will not turn away from our Arabic and Islamic traditions even in building our new nation, and we do not oppose any nation in the international community. We declare our support for people that wish to rule themselves, which therefore leads us to support the Palestinian and Syrian nations. The bloodshed in Syria must end immediately, and we will do our best in working to achieve that in the near future.

Similarly, we will work assiduously to revitalise regional cooperation with our fellow Arab nations through the Arab League and the Arab market, as well as the common Arab defence framework. All Arab countries support the principle of mutual interest, and Egypt is leading the way in this regard.

We will build a prosperous future for our sons and grandsons, Muslims and Christians alike. We will push Egypt to become stronger than ever before and to carry out the goals of our revolution: we will achieve freedom, social justice and human dignity for us all.