Afworki considers Arab League membership; denies presence of Israeli bases
Egypt-Eritrea, Politics, 11/16/2002

Eritrean President Isaias Afworki denied the presence of any Israeli bases in his country or bowing to any US pressures to balk at joining the Arab League.

In a dialogue with members of the Egyptian Council of Foreign Affairs, Afworki, now in Egypt, said the relations between his country and Israel are inherited.

They are no more than diplomatic relations of which Eritrea is not ashamed, said Afworki.

"I challenge any body who can prove any Israeli active or military presence in Eritrea," he said, noting that there is no conspiracies between his country and any other country against others.

The Eritrean leader rejected claims that his country had undergone US pressures to refuse membership in the Arab League.

Joining any regional organisation, whether in the present or in the future, is a matter left for time, he said.

Afworki lashed out at what he dubbed the Ethiopia's attempts to impose itself as a regional superpower in the Horn of Africa.

"Relations with Ethiopia had complicated after the last war and due to Addis Ababa's rejection to endorse the international arbitration decision on the demarcation of borders," said Afworki.

Afworki described the Sudanese issue as complicated, noting that it dates back to 50 years.

He denied any involvement in the military confrontations which occurred recently in east of Sudan between the governmental forces of Khartoum and the opposition militias.

He emphasised that his country has not interfered in favor of any side against Sudan.

He said the trilateral alliance grouping Yemen, Sudan and Ethiopia against his country is part of the Ethiopian scheme to turn the region against Asmara and create a ring to fight his country and topple his regime.

He said this stance is a blatant violation of international laws and norms, adding that no country whatever it might be can change or topple the regime of another.

The Eritrean president hailed relations with Egypt which he said dated back to the 1950s.

He recalled that his political and military campaign for independence started in the Egyptian universities.

The Eritrean foreign minister invited his counterpart Ahmad Maher to visit Asmara, said Afworki.

Eritrea's reconstruction and rebuilding march depends to a great extent on Egypt from which "we are importing cement and building materials in addition to the tar and consumption goods, he said.

He proposed the establishment of a partnership in the field of fishing, estimating his country's potential fish output at 110,000 tonnes a year.

Only 5,000 to 6,000 tonnes of this amount is used, he remarked.

All contracts with American and African fishing companies have been scrapped in order to build partnership on a fair basis, he said.

He added that there must be a trade agreement with Egyptian investors to transport the huge fish produce to Egypt and Europe.

Previous Stories:
  Mubarak confers with Afourki   (11/14/2002)
  Afourki in Cairo to discuss the conflict with Sudan   (11/13/2002)
  Moussa receives Eriterian foreign minister   (5/20/1999)

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