Romanian relations with Egypt strategic

Romanian Foreign Minister Saturday described Romanian relations with Egypt as strategic, pointing out that his meeting with President Hosni Mubarak and his talks with other senior officials will have an important impact on his current tour of the region.

In an interview with Good Morning Egypt TV show, the Romanian official asserted the importance of bilateral ties and the exchanged visits by officials of both nations.

He referred to President Mubarak's warning against the need to contain the situation in the region otherwise the new Israeli and Palestinian generations will be more violent in light of the state of frustration prevailing over the region.

He said he was looking forward to meeting with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat during his visit to the Palestinian territories and Israel within the coming couple of days. He said he would not end his visit before meeting with Arafat.

Commenting on the European role in the Middle East, he referred to the political and economic dimensions of this role that started in Oslo, pointing out to the numerous attempts inside the European Union that aim at ending the current crisis in the region.

He referred to the tour of EU security and foreign affairs commissioner Javier Solana and his meeting with Arafat recently.

He said he would try to persuade the Israeli officials to halt violence and improve conditions in the territories.