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Al-Ahram Weekly 15 - 21 April 1999 Issue No. 425 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 15 - 21 April 1999 Issue No. 425
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Features Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters A passage to Asia
By Nevine KhalilWrapping up a three-nation Asian tour, President Hosni Mubarak stopped over in Abu Dhabi for a meeting with Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Jordan's King Abdullah. The three held talks yesterday on a number of issues, including Middle East peace-making, the Iraq crisis and the prospects for organising an Arab summit.
Abdullah, who arrived in the UAE on Sunday, was scheduled to leave on Tuesday, the day Mubarak arrived in Abu Dhabi, but the monarch delayed his departure in order to attend the talks. The president also briefed Zayed separately on the outcome of his Asian tour and ways of expanding cooperation between the Arab world and Asia.
Mubarak is expected back in Cairo today, at the conclusion of a tour which began on 5 April and took him to China, South Korea and Japan. On his first stop, Mubarak clinched a strategic joint declaration with Beijing, aimed at cementing and promoting Sino-Egyptian relations. On his second stop, Seoul announced that Cairo had been asked to mediate between the two Koreas. In Tokyo, finally, both sides agreed that the declaration of a Palestinian state, which Yasser Arafat had planned for 4 May, should be postponed until after Israel's 17 May parliamentary elections.
Bilateral economic relations with the Asian countries featured prominently during the president's 10-day tour. Mubarak was accompanied by Prime Minister Kamal El-Ganzouri, four cabinet ministers and a large group of businessmen. On his way home, the president said that he was "100 per cent satisfied" with the outcome of the tour.
Five government agreements and 16 private sector deals were signed in China. Seoul was the scene of the signing of 12 agreements and letters of intent, as well as the creation of a joint Egyptian-South Korean business council. A memorandum of understanding for a joint Egyptian-Japanese business council was signed in Tokyo, along with eight agreements for joint projects. Mubarak, anticipating a "qualitative and quantitative transition in economic ties with Asia", has said that he will personally follow up on progress in these joint projects.
Shifting from a traditional aid-dependent economy, Cairo is now set on establishing reciprocal, investment-oriented economic relations with Asia. Egyptian policy-makers are eager to benefit from technology transfer and welcome the three countries as major partners in large-scale infrastructure projects, which will help modernise Egyptian industry and upgrade the use of domestic renewable energy sources.
Presidential Adviser Osama El-Baz told Al-Ahram Weekly that Mubarak's tour was "very timely". He explained that Egypt has always maintained "strong relations with the Asian countries, many of which have achieved incredible progress". China, in particular, El-Baz said, "was able to achieve something unique by pursuing economic reform without applying the Western formula of economic restructuring". He added that the South Korean reform experience, and the major leaps it has made in technology, are viewed by Third World countries "as an attractive and bright model to follow".
But Seoul also sought Cairo's expertise in peaceful mediation by asking Mubarak to act as peace envoy between the two Koreas. After talks with South Korean President Kim Dae-Jung, Mubarak told a joint news conference last Friday that he would use his longtime ties with Pyongyang to reduce tensions in the Korean Peninsula. Mubarak, on this his first visit to South Korea, was asked to convey Seoul's wish for a dialogue with Pyongyang, and responded positively. "I will deliver President Kim's message to the North," he said.
President Kim said that he expects Mubarak, "who enjoys the trust of the North, to play the role of a fair mediator between the two Koreas". Mubarak opined that Seoul should take a "gradual, step-by-step approach", because Pyongyang is sceptical of its intentions.
Arriving in Tokyo on Sunday, Mubarak discussed Middle East peace-making at length with Premier Keizo Obuchi and other officials. In a joint statement on Monday, Mubarak and Obuchi expressed "deep concern over the stalled peace process... and underlined the need for cooperation between the countries to achieve a just, lasting and comprehensive peace... based on the principle of land for peace".
Mubarak argued that postponing the declaration of a state beyond 4 May was a good idea, but said the delay should not exceed a few months. "It would be suitable to delay the declaration for two or three months after the 4 May deadline," the president told Japan's Mainichi Shimbun newspaper.
The Egyptian-Japanese statement also affirmed Japan's support for the Palestinians' "legitimate right of self-determination, including the right to establish an independent state".
Japan is the second largest single donor to the Palestinians after the US, which over the past five years gave them $900 million. Japanese aid to the Palestinians since the Oslo process began in 1993 has so far totaled $385.19 million. Last November, the Japanese prime minister pledged an additional $200 million over the next two years.
