For the first time in the history of America- Egyptian relations Powell discusses reforms with non- governmental figures

During his visit to Cairo, it was on the agenda of the US secretary of state Colin Powell a meeting arranged in a hurry and the invitees to it knew they were invited just a short time before it was convened. This was for security reasons.

The meeting lasted for 40 minutes with representatives of various Egyptian cultural and political trends including two members of the politics committee in the ruling national party. They are Husam Badrwai and Ismael Saraj Eddine, two members of al-Wafd Party. They are Munir Fakhri and Mahmoud Abaza, the deputy chairman of al-Wafd party., and two lawyers, they are the chairman of Cairo center for human rights Bahi Eddine Hassan and one woman activist for women issues Mona Zo al-Fiqar and each of the chief editor of the International policy magazine Osama al-Ghazali and chief editor of al-Democractieyah ( democracy) magazine Mrs. Hala Mustafa.

Bahi Eddine Hassan said in press statements that "the question of democratic reforms overwhelmed the course of the discussions and Powell opened the meeting by saying that he came to listen to the view of the representatives of the cvil society in Egypt on the question of the reform." He added that the discussions dealt with views on the priorities of reforms and assessing international initiatives to the question of reforms in the Middle East as well as the negative reflections of the American policy towards the situation in Palestine. He indicated that there were differences in view points among the attendance and there was no consensus on several main issues like the attempts to integrate the political groups in the political process.

The discussions focused on two trends: the first notified Powell on that need that the " US should stay apart and we do want only sympathy from it," while the other trend considers that " the civil society should be strongly supported." However, the US secretary of state has been careful in the few times he had visited Cairo to meet with public Egyptian figures, and the discussions have been always concentrating on the American foreign policy in the Middle East region, but this is the first time in which Powell deals with the question of democratic reforms in Egypt with non- governmental figures.