In a statement, NAL president Mohamad Tamaldou praised the outcome of the recent parliamentary elections in Lebanon and also had positive comments regarding the results of the local elections in Morocco. In both elections, member parties of the Network participated successfully. The statement of Mr. Tamaldou follows:

"It would be my pleasure to express on behalf of all the members of the Network of Arab Liberals (NAL) that we are very satisfied with the positive outcomes of the recent elections in Lebanon and in the Kingdom of Morocco, and the values these elections to establish social liberty, dignity, and democracy in the Arab world.

In Lebanon the Future Movement, with the National Liberal Party, has succeeded with their multi-ethnic and multi-cultural people to give the region a great lesson on the importance of relying on democracy and freedom of opinion, and how to exchange different ideas and represent them to the people in an atmosphere of responsibility and mutual respect.

I highly appreciate the role played by our liberal brothers to support liberty in this critical moment in Lebanon's history, which will definitely promote real stability and coexistence in all the elements of it's rich diverse society.

In the Kingdom of Morocco both NAL member parties, the Mouvement Populaire and the Union Constitutionnelle, were able to maintain their status as two important parties that give insight on exercising liberal policies on the national scale, and have been highly successful in the local council elections and have been represented as highly credible entities in terms of liberal policy makers."

The President of the Network of Arab Liberals Mr. Mohammad Tamaldou sent a congratulatory letter to Dr. Ayman Nour, the founder of the Egyptian liberal Al Ghad Party upon his release from prison. Al Ghad Party is a founding member of NAL, the party is also represented in the Executive Board.

In his letter, Mr. Tamaldou wrote the following:

"It is my pleasure to offer you the warmest congratulations on behalf of myself and all the members of the Network of Arab Liberals and its Executive Board on the occasion of your release after long years of imprisonment which, no doubt, constrained your movement, but which surely did not affect your faith as a liberal who believes that human beings cannot live except with freedom and the responsibility which comes with it and in the necessity of disseminating and promoting these values as widely as possible. I am certain that your struggle for freedom of thought is proof of the perseverance of all those who aspire to create a society where all views coexist in a framework of dignity, respect for human rights, the rule of law and the establishment of democracy. I am also certain that your suffering is that price which all Arabs must generously accept to pay whenever circumstances require it."

Meanwhile, Lord Alderdice, the President of Liberal International, called the release of Dr. Nour "fantastic news". In a press release, the head of the world federation of liberal parties said the following:

"The release of Ayman Nour is fantastic news. First and foremost for his own freedom and well-being, but also as an inspiration for liberal and democratic forces in Egypt. Mr. Nour's courage and determination in speaking out for the freedom of speech, democracy and political freedoms in Egypt, even at the sacrifice of his own personal freedom, have been an inspiration to many. His intended return in politics is a particularly encouraging sign for liberals in the Middle East, who have so successfully established the Network of Arab Liberals (NAL) over the last few years in which Mr. Nour’s party is an active member. As members of the Liberal International across the world, we will continue to actively support Mr. Nour and other liberals in the region."

The Network of Arab Liberals (NAL) has announced the appointment of Yosra Sultan as the new Program Officer of the Network. Ms. Sultan’s experience includes work with civil society and student organizations in the Arab world to promote civic awareness and participation as well as human rights advocacy. She graduated from the American University in Cairo (AUC) with a degree in political science and a specialization in Middle East politics and has extensive experience in writing and editing for various newspapers, blogs and magazines.

Meanwhile, the Cairo-based Network announced a series of planned activities aimed at strengthening the bonds of liberal parties in the region and enhancing political dialogue among Arab liberal forces: From March 11 through 14, 2009, a hands-on workshop for women leaders of NAL-member parties will be held in Cairo. Entitled "Women in Politics," the three day event is sponsored by the Liberal Democrats of the United Kingdom in cooperation with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty (FNF). The workshop aims at bringing together women politicians from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine and the host-country Egypt. Just two weeks later, the leaders of the Arab liberal network are planning to convene in Amman, Jordan for a workshop to discuss "Liberal Responses to the Global Economic Crisis". While in Amman, the NAL leadership will also assemble for its bi-annual Executive Committee meeting.

Finally, delegates from youth wings of NAL member parties are planning to hold the inaugural gathering of what has provisionally been termed the "Union of Liberal Arab Youth" (ULAY) in Egypt in late April 2009. The preparatory discussions for the establishment of this regional liberal youth network have been laid at a workshop in Beirut in October of last year.

During the one-week-program the young activists from liberal parties in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt and Lebanon attended a seminar in Gummersbach and held informative meetings in Aachen, Düsseldorf and Berlin.

The program aimed at introducing to the Arab youth activists the role of political party youth wings in the political system of Germany with a special focus on the relationship of the youth organizations with the respective mother parties. All major German political parties have well established youth organizations that play an active role in party affairs. The delegation from the Middle East met with members of the German and European Parliaments, the leadership of FNF, and also had extensive discussions with Junge Liberale (Julis), the youth wing of the German liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP).

Promoting the cooperation between Arab and European liberals is an important objective of the Network of Arab Liberals. In this regard, the discussions the Arab youth delegation held with leading members of the International Federation of Liberal Youth (IFLRY) and the European Federation of Liberal Youth Organizations (LYMEC) were important as they laid the ground for future cooperation.

Summarizing the outcome of seven busy day in Germany, Egyptian delegate Mohamed Saad from the Ghad Party said: "The program was an excellent opportunity for us to communicate with European and German politicians, to exchange experiences and also to discuss future cooperation".

The delegates agreed that the Arab world is far away from achieving gender equality.  In the conclusions adopted at the end of the workshop the group states: "A large number of women in the Arab countries are unaware of their rights." The participants lament "the growing fundamentalist currents that oppose women’s rights and threaten the existing social and political benefits by imposing condescending views of women".

In the end, the NAL-representatives formulated recommendations and vowed to put these into practice in their own organizations. Among these are:

- Strengthening the role of women in civil society and encouraging women to join and participate in political parties

- Introduction of the quota system in liberal political parties to ensure as a transitional step fair and active presentation in political decision making

- Development of strategies and training programs aimed at enhancing the role of women in leadership positions and political elections

- Evaluation of women’s participation in NAL member parties and elections

The Network furthermore vowed to work for the complete equality between men and women in Arab constitutions and related legislations and to aspire for the reform of family laws in order to achieve gender equality and achieve generally accepted modern international standards.

"The women’s workshop featured high-level discussions with both academic and legislative contributions to the debate about liberal women in the Arab region, including a concrete plan of implementation", Mohamed Tamaldou, the President of the Network of Arab Liberals said in a statement.

Read the full text of the recommendations titled "The Role of Women in Political Parties in the Arab World".

Chaired by NAL-President Mohamed Tamaldou, the Executive Board of the Network met for its first ordinary meeting in Tunis on October 17, 2008. During their one-day reunion, the NAL-leaders dealt with a long list of organizational and political issues – among them the consolidation of the group, internal and external communications, the division of responsibilities and tasks among the board members, finances, membership and upcoming activities. Special attention was given to the procedures to invite and accept new members: According to NAL-program officer, Mrs. Cynthia Farahat, membership applications from liberal parties in Sudan and Iraq have reached the secretariat in Cairo.

Regarding planned activities, Mr. Tamaldou informed the Board about the upcoming conference titled Towards Establishing a Liberal Maghreb Vision to be held in Marrakech in late November 2008. This is envisioned to be the first meeting of liberal party leaders of the Arab Maghreb including Mauretania. The Executive Board also discussed plans to hold a workshop dealing with economic policies and liberal developmental strategies in Amman, Jordan in early 2009.