Egypt, Bahrain stress peace basics; relations with Iran
Egypt-Bahrain, Politics, 6/23/1999

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Bahraini Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Issa al-Khaleifa have called on the next Israeli government to resume the Middle East peace process and implement signed agreements and obligations on all tracks.

At the conclusion of their talks on Tuesday, the two sides stressed that Israel's complete withdrawal from the Golan, south Lebanon and the occupied Palestinian territories is the basis for reaching a just and comprehensive peace in the region.

The two leaders stressed that the revival of the Middle East peace and giving it a push forward require a tangible and serious commitment by Israeli Prime Minister-elect Ehud Barak to basics of the Madrid conference, the land for peace formula and carrying out signed agreements and obligations.

President Mubarak and Sheikh Hamad called for a united Arab stand to withstand challenges imposed on the Arabs. They stressed the importance of strengthening the role played by the AL and revitalizing institutions of common Arab work as well as to establish the common Arab market in the age of world blocs.

Sheikh Hamad called for further Arab solidarity in the service of Arab causes of destiny.

During his meeting on Tuesday in Cairo with chief editors of the Egyptian papers, Sheikh Hamad said, "Unifying Arab ranks is a might (strength) for the Arabs."

He said he was optimistic over the future of Arab solidarity in spite of the current inter-Arab problems. He also hoped that one day Arab leaders would be able to hold regular summits. He also said his country was keen to reach a peaceful solution for its border row with fellow Gulf Cooperation Council member Qatar, he said.

The Bahraini leader welcomed the new conciliatory attempts by moderate Iranian President Mohammed Khatami to heal rifts with the Arab countries. "Iran is a neighbouring Muslim country and its stability leads to the stability of the Gulf. There are indeed a moderate and a hard-liner lines but we hope we can reach an agreement with them and I hope they would soon start solving their disputes with the Gulf countries," he said.

The statement issued at the end of the visit said the two countries also called on Iraq to abide by all international resolutions related to its 1990 invasion of Kuwait and to end the issue of the Kuwait prisoners of war and missing in action. Moreover, they also underlined the importance of launching concerted efforts to ease the suffering of the Iraqi people under the United Nations and reaffirmed commitment to the Iraqi territorial integrity and sovereignty.

"The two parties reaffirmed support to the stance of the United Arab Emirates in its claim for the three Arab Gulf islands of Greater and Lesser Tunb and Abu Mussa and backed the UAE demand for peacefully solving this issue (with Iran)," the statement said.

Egypt and Bahrain also called on the international community to join hands to free the Middle East from weapons of mass destruction, and urged putting pressure on Israel, widely believed to possess nuclear weapons, to open its suspected nuclear sites to international inspection and join the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, an official statement said.

Previous Stories:
  Mubarak, Bahraini ruler agree on Iraq's participation in an Arab summit   (6/22/1999)
  Mubarak meets with Bahraini ruler today   (6/21/1999)
  A message from Moussa for his Bahraini counterpart   (5/19/1999)

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