Mubarak - Clinton talks cover important issues
Egypt-USA, Politics, 3/23/2000

A host of important issues will figure prominently on the agenda of talks between Presidents Hosni Mubarak and Bill Clinton, Foreign Minister Amr Moussa said Wednesday.

The two leaders will exchange views on a range of political and economic issues along with bilateral cooperation and the peace march in the Middle East, he added.

They will also discuss alternatives, options and common action to push forward the peacemaking, he added.

"The Mubarak-Clinton talks will further dwell on a host of regional issues, current conditions in Africa especially in Sudan, and Iraq," he said.

Moussa said it is high time to have sanctions on Iraq lifted and halt the sufferings of the Iraqi people.

"Times have changed and Middle East countries must work together under peace and away from threats, wars and arms race, so that the region becomes more secure and can concentrate efforts on development and prosperity," Moussa said.

Moussa warned against maneuvers and affirmed the need to apply the NPT in full and equally among all states in the region.

San Francisco, he said, is the birthplace of the UN system in 1945 and is home of the Nuclear Weapons Elimination Initiative.

It is from this place, he said, where he calls on all parties to seriously work on putting an end to the Middle East conflict that will come with a full withdrawal from the occupied Arab lands, full normalization of relations among all states of the region and the realization of security for all.

He stressed the need to eliminate all weapons of mass destruction from the region because they are a threat to the region.

There can be no permanent peace without the elimination of weapons of mass destruction, he added.

Moussa said Egyptian-American ties were excellent.

The US is Egypt's largest trading partner with over $ 4 billion in trade, he said.

Moussa said Sunday's meeting in Geneva of President Bill Clinton and Syrian President Hafez El Assad was important as it is expected to reactivate the Syrian-Israeli peace talks. He reaffirmed that peace in the Middle East could be realized in one year.

Moussa termed Egyptian-Israeli relations as relations of a special nature. Israel's continued occupation of Arab lands sheds its light on this relationship, while peace will have a positive effect on the relationship itself, it will make it warmer and more natural, he added. But he said that the size of economic, trade and tourist ties was normal.

Moussa warned Israel of maneuvers by using its withdrawal from Lebanon to bring pressure to bear on Arab parties.

Moussa described Egyptian-Iranian relations as good, adding that the two sides cooperated on a number of regional and international issues as well as trade and economic cooperation.

Moussa, who arrived in San Francisco early in the day from Los Angeles, addressed the Commonwealth Club and visited information technology companies in Silicon Valley.

He spoke of investment opportunities in Egypt, saying that Egypt ranked second after China in software market expansion.

"Egypt is a very promising market and steps are being taken to position it as the hub of Arabic software in the region," he said.

Yesterday evening, Moussa met the presidents of the these companies and expounded investment opportunities in Egypt and the transfer of technology to it.

Previous Stories:
  Intensive program for President Mubarak during his visit to Washington   (3/22/2000)
  Mubarak's US visit underlines depth of Egyptian-US relations   (3/21/2000)
  Peace issue at forefront of Mubarak talks in Washington   (3/21/2000)

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