Moussa discuss Sirte summit, Palestinian, Iraqi situation

Egypt's Foreign Minister Amr Moussa left Cairo Wednesday for Libya accompanied by La Francophonie Secretary-General Boutros Ghali. During his visit to Libya, Moussa heads the Egyptian delegation to the two-day African Summit to open in the Libyan city of Sirte on Thursday.

Shortly before departure, Mousaa told reporters that President Hosni Mubarak's talks on Wednesday with Palestinian Leader Yasser Arafat had focused on the current situation in Israel and what political line Israel could likely adopt vis-a-vis the peace process in the coming months.

"Mubarak-Arafat talks also dealt with preparations for an Arab stand to be expressed at the coming Arab summit to be held in Amman," said Moussa.

Asked whether President Arafat had shown any signs of relief after his recent meeting with US Secretary of State Colin Powell, Moussa said Arafat is generally dissatisfied with the whole situation its potential consequences.

On the US State Department's report condemning Israeli practices against the Palestinians, Moussa viewed the report as positive signal regarding the question of human right in the occupied territories.

"Egypt has repeatedly pointed out that human rights in the occupied territories are in such bad shape as a result of continued violations of the human rights of people under occupation there," Moussa said. He added that Egypt had called for raising the issue with international organizations and the UN Human Rights Commission for measures to be taken in this respect.

On Iraq, Moussa referred to the outcome of recent talks between UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohamad Said Al Sahaf.

Asked to comment on reports that the Annan-Sahaf contacts resulted in naught, Moussa believed that agreement to pursue, meetings between the two sides was in itself a healthy sign.

Speaking about the Sirte summit, Moussa said that the summit is required to push things towards activating the African Union and moving together along a new path of African life.

Drawn on reported differences among African Foreign Ministers during their meetings which closed in Libya on Tuesday, Moussa said this was normal. He added that what counts is that this would happen within a framework of general consensus. "This is what we will discuss at Sirte Summit," he added.

Ghali who is to attend the Summit as an observer, said that the establishment of an African Union would give a boost to the role of the Organization of African Unity and help set up the African economic group.

On tackling declaration of African Union Moussa hailed the declaration as a major accomplishment on the path towards further inter-African cooperation.

Meanwhile, the summit conferences will open with an inaugural session where Leader of the Libyan Revolution Colonel Muammar Gaddafi will give the opening speech on his vision of the future of the African continent.

Egypt is one of 44 African countries which have ginned up to the agreement on setting up the African Union, with some 30 of these countries already ratifying the accord.

MENA learnt that Sirte Summit would declare the establishment of the African Union regardless of the number of states which had ratified the agreement.

During a transitional period the union will work side by side with the Organization of African Union, after which thc OAU General Secretariat will serve both the Organization and the Union, pending their merger into one entity, the African Union, following the interim period.

The Sirte summit will also discuss prospects for setting up an African Parliament, now that African experts and foreign ministers have hammered out a protocol in this regard.

African debts, stability and development in the continent, the Lockeribe issue and Afro-Arab cooperation are also to figure high on the Summit's agenda.

OAU Secretary-General Salem Ahmad Salem is to submit a detailed report on the outcome of the preparatory African foreign ministers conference which wound up work on Wednesday.

A number of member-states are expected to table a motion on extending Salem's mandate, for two years, with other members seeking to have him replaced by one of their own candidates for the top OAU post.