Egyptian, Gambian foreign ministers confer today

A session of formal talks were held today between Egypt and Gambia under the chairmanship of the Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa and his Gambian counterpart, Bobo Lamin.

Following the meeting, the Gambian FM, who is currently visiting Cairo for three days, said the meetings have tackled bilateral relations and means of enhancing them in all domains. They also reviewed all African issues, especially those concerning the OAU, the current African disputes and the preparations for the coming African summit in Algeria during July.

Lamin added that the talks also discussed the role that Gambia could play when assuming the presidency of the UN Security Council during the coming month in reaching solutions to several main issues currently facing the UN.

Concerning the current dispute inside the Security Council on the future of the Iraqi issue, Lamin said: "I agree with Amr Moussa that the international community should make Iraq feel that there is a chance to close some files as that of the missiles, nuclear and that there is a move towards prevailing an order for monitoring instead of the inspection."

Finally, Lamin described bilateral relations between Egypt and Gambia as a very positive one concerning joint interests, especially as Egypt achieves great progress in all domains and plays a central role in the Organization of African Unity. He added that that there are still many areas that could be upgraded in Egyptian - Gambian relations.