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Al-Ahram Weekly 11 - 17 March 1999 Issue No. 420 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 11 - 17 March 1999 Issue No. 420
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Focus Special Features Travel Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Greater cooperation with Tunisia
By Shaden Shehab
AT THE SEVENTH session of the Egyptian-Tunisian Higher Joint Committee held in Tunis on Saturday, Prime Minister Kamal El-Ganzouri and his Tunisian opposite number Hamed Karoui signed eight agreements establishing greater cooperation between the two countries. The agreements deal with the removal of trade barriers, as well as cooperation in the fields of culture, sports, social affairs, the environment and child welfare.
Kamal El-Ganzouri
The discussions also covered political coordination, the development of human resources and economic, trade, consular, judicial and security cooperation.
El-Ganzouri also met Tunisian President Zein Al-Abedin bin Ali to pass on an invitation to Cairo from President Hosni Mubarak.
El-Ganzouri told a news conference that he and Karoui discussed the "promising outlook" for a free-trade zone and economic partnership between the two countries. The two sides signed an agreement last year setting out the steps leading to the establishment of such a zone by the end of the year 2007.
El-Ganzouri also said that the stalemate in the peace process was the result of Israeli intransigence. He added that the Israeli government had failed to honour its international commitments and was making up excuses to delay the fulfilment these obligations.
On another subject, in response to a question about a press report claiming that Israeli President Ezer Weizman has offered to exchange all Arab prisoners in Israeli jails for convicted Israeli spy Azam Azam, El-Ganzouri said that releasing Azam was the prerogative of the Egyptian judiciary.
