Maher: Talks with Eritrea's FM focus on boosting ties; Egypt to hep Eritrea - Ethiopia end problems
Egypt-Eritrea, Politics, 12/18/2003

Egypt's Foreign Minister Ahmad Maher said on Wednesday that his talks with his Eritrean counterpart Ali Said Abdullah focused on boosting bilateral relations in political, economic and trade domains.

He described relations between the two countries as deep-rooted and distinguished.

At a joint press conference with the Eritrean official, Maher said he got specific instructions from President Hosni Mubarak to expand the scope of relations with Eritrea.

The meeting covered ways to increase trade cooperation between the two countries, he said.

Talks also covered the latest regional developments, Maher said. He stressed that Egypt was keen to maintain good ties with all countries of the Horn of Africa and East Africa, a view shared by his Eritrean counterpart.

Maher promised that Egypt would do its best to help Eritrea and Ethiopia restore normal relations. He denied that this was tantamount to mediation between the two countries.

The Egyptian official said he received an invitation from his Eritrean counterpart to visit Asmara soon, adding that he would make the visit soon.

Addressing the same conference, the Eritrean Foreign Minister thanked Egypt and President Mubarak for all supporting efforts. Egypt does its best to achieve security and stability in the region, Abdullah said. Talks, he added, also covered the latest developments between Eritrea and Ethiopia. He regretted that Ethiopia refused to implement an arbitration ruling passed by an international tribunal on the demarcation of borders between the two countries. The ruling is binding and irreversible, he added.

The meeting with Maher also covered peace in Sudan, which is important to Eritrea, and reflects positively on the neighboring countries in the region, Abdullah said.

Ruling out as too early a meeting with the Ethiopian Foreign Minister, the Eritrean official urged Ethiopia to first implement the ruling reached on the border issue.

He said that Eritrea's ties with Israel are normal and that Israel does not have any bases in Eritrea. Eritrea's relations with Israel could not be at the expense of others, he confirmed.

Previous Stories:
  Eritrea's Afworki terms talks with Mubarak as successful   (11/16/2002)
  Afworki considers Arab League membership; denies presence of Israeli bases   (11/16/2002)
  Mubarak confers with Afourki   (11/14/2002)

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