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Al-Ahram Weekly 27 April - 3 May 2000 Issue No. 479 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 27 April - 3 May 2000 Issue No. 479
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Special Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters An agenda of regional issues
CAIRO was involved this week in discussions on a number of Arab and African issues, most importantly Middle East peacemaking. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, fresh from talks with US President Bill Clinton, stopped over in Cairo on Sunday to brief Egypt's chief executive on the outcome of his talks in Washington. President Mubarak and Arafat discussed the prospects for the Palestinian-Israeli track of negotiations amidst optimism that the talks, which will resume soon, will make tangible progress.
Foreign Minister Amr Moussa said that the Palestinian delegation is "comfortable with the results of their talks with the Americans." He expressed hope that, as a result, "work will gain momentum along the Palestinian track."
The third round of talks between the Palestinians and Israelis will be resumed at the end of this month in Eilat and will be targeted to reach a framework agreement for negotiations on a final settlement by 13 May. Israel also has to comply with the requirements of signed interim agreements, such as the third redeployment of troops in the West Bank. A peace agreement should be reached by September.
The upcoming talks, Moussa said, "will be negotiations, and not discussions," -- the epithet used to describe talks between the two sides over the past few weeks at an airforce base near Washington. "We are coordinating closely with the Palestinians at this point in time," the minister said.
The peace process was also on the agenda of talks between Mubarak and United Arab Emirates (UAE) Defence Minister Mohamed bin Rashed Al-Maktoum, the crown prince of Dubai. The UAE official conveyed a message from his head-of-state, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahayan, and discussed bilateral relations. The UAE is a leading investor in the land reclamation project at Toshka in the south-western desert.
Conditions on the African continent were at the centre of talks during Mubarak's meeting with Liberian President Charles Taylor on Saturday. The two men discussed ways of strengthening the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), resolving inter-African conflicts by peaceful means and promoting bilateral ties. Taylor stopped over in Cairo for a few hours on his way to the United Arab Emirates.
