Amr Moussa meets South African foreign minister and US Undersecretary of State

The Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa met early in the morning today with his South African counterpart who arrived in Cairo to join the delegation accompanying South African President Nelson Mandela, who will arrive in Cairo tonight.

After the meeting, Moussa stated that his discussions with the South African Foreign Minister focused on the preparations for President Mandela's visit and his discussions with President Mubarak.

Moussa said he will continue his discussions with his South African counterpart tomorrow morning at the premises of the Egyptian Foreign Ministry.

Yesterday, Moussa met with the former US Undersecretary of State for Middle East affairs Robert Peliterou, who is currently in Egypt.

Their discussions dealt with many issues on top of which is the bilateral relations between Egypt and the USA, the peace process, and the recent developments in the region in addition to the visit of the recent US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to the region.

Peliterou stated that the two countries have one common aim in the Gulf, Bosnia, and Africa in addition to their common efforts to maintain the stability in the Middle East. Regarding whether the meeting discussed the MENA Conference in Qatar or not, Peliterou said that it was discussed and that the US stance is to encourage all countries to participate in the conference was declared earlier. Adding that the conference has other aims than the peace process as it will witness a great Asian attendance.

Peliterou mentioned that the economic dimension of the conference will be on the top of its priorities and that the Arab countries should not miss the opportunities offered by the conference.