Peace issue at forefront of Mubarak talks in Washington
Egypt-USA, Politics, 3/21/2000

President Hosni Mubarak will have a busy agenda when he arrives in the US Friday on a week-long visit.

He is scheduled to have meetings with President Bill Clinton, Vice President Al Gore, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, the Secretaries of Defense and Commerce and Congress leaders.

The President will hold two enlarged sessions with the Congress and Senate Foreign Relations Committees.

Mubarak¹s talks will mainly focus on the Middle East peace process, but also address economic issues, American-Egyptian economic and trade cooperation, the transfer of technology and information technology in Egypt.

President Mubarak begins his activities on Sunday in Washington with a meeting with the Egyptian community in the US. He will give interviews to the US media, press and television channels.

The President has devoted a whole day to members of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The Foreign Relations Committees of the House and Senate will host a lunch banquet in honor of President Mubarak.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa said Presidents Mubarak and Clinton will examine the situation in the Middle East and ways of working together in the coming months to keep the three peace tracks active.

Moussa, speaking to Middle East News Agency (MENA), expressed conviction that the US position had seriously progressed and that Clinton had a real desire in the realization of peace.

"The meetings Mubarak is scheduled to hold with top US officials, foremost Gore and Albright, will provide an excellent opportunity to examine aspects of cooperation in the peace issue," he said.

"The talks will also dwell on ways to promote bilateral cooperation. The President is to meet representatives of the major American-Jewish organizations and will expound his views on the promotion of the peace process and obstacles facing it," he expounded.

President Mubarak will meet representatives of 250 Americans operating in the field of information technology and will visit one of the largest American establishments of advanced technology.

To this large and specialized audience, he will present his views on prospects of cooperation between these companies and Egypt and the available opportunities in Egypt for their activities.

His presentation will be followed by a question and answer session.

Representatives from 50 Egyptian companies, interested in acquiring this type of technology, will attend, among them members of the Egyptian- American Presidential Council and various members of commerce and businessmen.

President Mubarak will visit the Pentagon and meet Defense Secretary William Cohen to examine peace in the Middle East.

Moussa described Mubarak¹s visit as extremely important. "Its timing in particular has a special meaning, with a number of indications suggesting action on the various peace tracks," he said.

"The President's visits to the US always fall around this time of the year, but this particular time it comes to express backing to Clinton, who has affirmed his determination to promote the peace process to the end," Moussa expounded.

"It is untrue that during the last months of his presidency, the American President limit his activities," Moussa said.

"Clinton has stressed he will exercise all his constitutional powers until the last day in office," he added.

"The Mubarak-Clinton meeting also derives its importance from the venue, as Palestinians and Israelis will be meeting in Washington in addition to signs looming on the resumption of the Syrian-Israeli peace talks and Israel's announcement that it will withdraw from south Lebanon," Moussa added.

Representatives of the information technology companies will host a working luncheon in honor of President Mubarak.

At this gathering, Egyptian Minister of Communications and Informatics Ahmed Nazif will give a full presentation on Egypt's program for entering the age of informatics.

Nazif will remain in the US after the President's departure and will travel to California to meet representatives of major companies in the technology information domain and visit the technology Silicon Valley to expound Egypt's plan to develop its communication network.

Previous Stories:
  Moussa asserts importance of Mubarak's visit to Washington   (3/20/2000)
  An Egyptian businessmen mission visits Washington   (3/18/2000)
  Moussa in Washington today   (3/17/2000)

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