Mubarak receives US Senator
Egypt-USA, Politics, 1/16/2002

Egyptian President Mubarak Tuesday received US Senator John Kerry (Massachusetts) member of the Senate Finance Committee, and his accompanying delegation.

Kerry, serving his third term as a U.S. Senator, is also senior member of the Commerce Committee.

Presidential Political Advisor Osama EL Baz attended the meeting and American ambassador to Egypt David Welch.

Kerry arrived Monday from Riyadh on a two-day visit to Egypt as part of a tour that has taken him to Jordan and Saudi Arabia and will take him to Israel and the Palestinian self-rule areas.

Emerging from the 90-minute meeting, Kerry said we've had a very lengthy conversation that mostly focused, though not exclusively, on the peace process and the situation in Israel and the Palestinian territories".

He reiterated that President Mubarak is one of the most important and constructive players with respect to that issue, adding "we covered every aspect of it and he gave me a much better understanding of the dynamics right now".

Kerry noted, "we talked about our relationship and issues here as economy and other issues with respect to Egypt.

The US is particularly appreciative of the cooperation that we are receiving on the war of terrorism and we look forward to continuing very positively and hopefully increasing constructive relationships".

On cooperation between Egypt and US in the field of small sized enterprises, Kerry, Chairman of the small projects committee, said that "we mostly focused on American business and our efforts within the US itself".

He added that some of those companies are involved in export but most of the support for companies that are situated here for investing comes through the export bank or other kinds of programmes and not through the small business committee.

On the objective of his current visit to the region, Kerry said that "the main objective of my visit is to learn and understand what the dynamics are in this region, how we, the United States, are viewed here, what the problems are and how we can better deal with them."

"I think-as a policy maker in the US, it's important for me to have a good understanding of what precisely the difficulties are that we face as we try to find peace in the Middle East, as we build our relationship, as we work on economic - development," he said.

Kerry elaborated, "As you know, we provide a significant amount of aid here to Egypt both on the economic and military sides. I want to learn how is that being implemented, how effective it is, ways which we might improve on it and how we build a relationship".

The U.S. Senator further said, "Egypt is a very important country to us. Our relationship is very important'.

President Mubarak has played a critical role in the peace process and in other issues. He is important international voice and I appreciate the opportunity to learn from him what he thinks we can do in order to try to create stability and a healthy, economic future for all of us, he added.

Kerry pointed out that "I did learn a significant amount with respect to what is happening in the Palestinian Authority and the President's views on how we go on that peace process.

It was particularly constructive. He has worked on this issue for years now with several U.S. views as personally and directly and in much detail as I did today.

He said that it is eventually helpful in the meetings during his visit to Israel and the palestinian territories.

Kerry said that his meetings with King Abdullah II of Jordan' in Amman and Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah in Riyadh and the talk today with President Mubarak will provide a good background during the talks with decision makers in Israel.

"United States is deeply concerned over the current situation in the region and its impact on US strategy interests and relations with the countries of the region,' he said.

Previous Stories:
  Mubarak discusses ME developments with US congress delegation   (1/14/2002)
  US congressman underlines Egypt's experience in combating terror   (1/12/2002)
  Bush: Washington to help Egypt overcome September 11 repercussion   (1/12/2002)

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