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Al-Ahram Weekly 6 - 12 January 2000 Issue No. 463 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 6 - 12 January 2000 Issue No. 463
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Heritage Millennium Features Profile Living Travel Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Oil for the 21 century
PRESIDENT Hosni Mubarak met on Monday with Prime Minister Atef Ebeid and a group of cabinet ministers whose portfolios relate to the oil sector. Oil Minister Sameh Fahmi told reporters that Egypt's largest oil discovery, which was made recently off the Mediterranean coast, is expected to yield $164 billion in revenues. The discovery would more than double Egypt's crude oil reserves from 3.7 billion barrels to 8.2 billion barrels, and would more than triple Egypt's natural gas reserves from 36.5 trillion cubic feet to 120 trillion cubic feet. "This would meet Egypt's crude oil needs for the next 25 years, and natural gas needs for the next century," Fahmi said.The Cairo meetings were the third in a series of regional consultations aimed at providing the WCD with crucial input for the preparation of a final report, to be issued by mid-2000. The sessions dealt with a country perspective on Egypt; the social impact of displacement and resettlement; food security; assessing and managing environmental consequences; national development policies and alternative options. Participants came from countries ranging from Syria to Senegal.
Mubarak reviewed the progress being made by the three largest British, Italian and American oil exploration companies operating in Egypt and gave directives that operations to liquefy and export the natural gas begin as soon as possible. The president also ordered the expansion of domestic natural gas use, especially in industry in the southern regions, and said that countries importing natural gas should build liquefying stations in Egypt.
Mubarak also met separately with the ministers in charge of the cabinet's economic and financial portfolios.
Holiest of nights
PRESIDENT Hosni Mubarak attended a celebration of Leilat Al-Qadr, the holiest night in the fasting month of Ramadan, on Monday evening and handed out prizes worth some LE2 million to youngsters and adults from throughout the Islamic world who have memorised the whole or large parts of the Qur'an. Participants from 55 Arab, African, Asian and European countries took part in the international competition, while nearly 85,000 participants took part in the national competition.
Mubarak also gave a speech at the event organised by the Ministry of Al-Awqaf (Religious Endowments), at which Awqaf Minister Hamdi Zaqzouq and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Sheikh Mohamed Sayed Tantawi officiated.
The Cairo meetings were the third in a series of regional consultations aimed at providing the WCD with crucial input for the preparation of a final report, to be issued by mid-2000. The sessions dealt with a country perspective on Egypt; the social impact of displacement and resettlement; food security; assessing and managing environmental consequences; national development policies and alternative options. Participants came from countries ranging from Syria to Senegal.
Sudan consultations
AFTER celebrating Leilat Al-Qadr, the night during which the Holy Qur'an was revealed to Prophet Mohamed, President Hosni Mubarak received Qatari Foreign Minister Hamad bin Jassem, who had arrived in Cairo following visits to Khartoum and Jeddah, for talks on the situation in Sudan. Qatar is trying to mediate between Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir and Parliament Speaker Hassan Al-Turabi to defuse tensions which resulted from the former's imposition of martial law and dissolution of parliament last month.
As part of ongoing consultations, Mubarak dispatched Foreign Minister Amr Moussa to Khartoum on Tuesday with a message for Al-Bashir. Moussa was also expected to meet in the Sudanese capital with his Libyan counterpart Omar Al-Montasser to coordinate an Egyptian-Libyan initiative to resolve the crisis between the Khartoum government and opposition forces.
