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Al-Ahram Weekly 18 - 24 May 2000 Issue No. 482 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 18 - 24 May 2000 Issue No. 482
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Focus Features Heritage Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters A 'special relationship'
By Shaden ShehabPrime Minister Atef Ebeid is paying a three-day visit to Lebanon to chair the fourth meeting of a Supreme Joint Committee and inaugurate two renovated power stations bombed by Israel. Ebeid will also make an opening speech at the sixth annual Conference for Investment and Arab Capital Market, attend the 40th anniversary of Beirut Arab University and meet with businessmen.
Ebeid, who was welcomed by his Lebanese counterpart Selim Al-Hoss, is accompanied by Information Minister Safwat El-Sherif, Economy Minister Youssef Boutros Ghali, Minister of Higher Education Mufid Shehab, Minister of Electricity Ali El-Sa'idi, Minister of the Public Business Sector Mukhtar Kattab, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Ahmed El-Darsh and a number of businessmen.
In his opening address to the joint committee, Ebeid affirmed "that Egypt will strongly support, and without reservations, efforts to uphold Lebanon's independence and safeguard its soil." He said that "Egypt will take the lead in reconstructing what was destroyed in Lebanon. Our men are your men and will do whatever is needed." For his part, Al-Hoss said that "we will witness a new dawn with the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory... We welcome their withdrawal.. Israel is willing to withdraw before 7 July, and we expect the withdrawal to be completed before that date."
Declaring that the withdrawal must be complete, Al-Hoss said that if Israel does not withdraw from the disputed Chebaa Farms, "then we will consider it a redeployment" and not a withdrawal.
Ahmed El-Darsh, minister of planning and international cooperation, said that bilateral economic relations were developing but not at the desired speed.
Adel El-Khodari, the Egyptian ambassador in Beirut, told Al-Ahram Weekly that "Egyptian-Lebanese ties have always been special and distinguished; the two countries were always the twins of enlightenment in the Middle East."
"The visit of Prime Minister Ebeid is an extension of President Hosni Mubarak's visit [in February]. It is a true expression of [Egyptian] solidarity with the Lebanese people," El-Khodari said. "The historic visit of President Hosni Mubarak was a true reflection of these close ties. It was historic, not only because it was unprecedented, but because it came at a very critical time, immediately after the Israeli bombing of Lebanese power stations."
Tomorrow Ebeid and Al-Hoss are expected to sign several agreements, protocols, and memoranda of understanding that aim mainly at boosting economic relations between the two countries.
Although the Supreme Joint Committee is supposed to meet every six months, the last time it met was in September 1998.
A preparatory committee, which convened on Monday and Tuesday, was headed by El-Darsh and Naser El-Saidi, the Lebanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry. It recommended an increase of trade exchange, "mainly by removing obstacles related to the description and standard of goods," El-Darsh explained.
According to diplomatic sources, the exchange of agricultural products has been slowed down because both countries at times rejected the other's products on the grounds that they were below standard. Egyptian potatoes were turned down by Lebanon and Lebanese apples by Egypt.
Ahmed Magdi, trade attache at the Egyptian embassy, explained that Egyptian exports to Lebanon stand at $51 million, while Lebanese exports to Egypt amount to $16 million. There are also 139 Lebanese-related investment projects in Egypt capitalised at LE3.8 billion, he said.
The preparatory committee also recommended a memorandum of understanding for the protection of patent rights as well as protocols on the transport of goods and passengers by land and Egyptian assistance in developing the Lebanese railway system by supplying the necessary equipment, El-Darsh elaborated.
At the third meeting of the Supreme Joint Committee in Cairo in 1998, an agreement was signed on the establishment of a free trade zone and the gradual reduction of customs barriers until complete cancellation in the year 2004.
Ebeid and Al-Hoss are scheduled tomorrow to inaugurate two power stations that had been attacked by Israel and rebuilt with Egyptian assistance. Work is continuing on a third, damaged power station, and will be completed next month..
The three power stations are: Al-Jomhour, the largest plant that feeds Beirut; Deir Nbouh that feeds Zghorta in the north, and Baalbek that feeds the Beqaa Valley.
The reconstruction effort required 26 technicians and engineers to work 14 hours daily, using advanced equipment, shipped from Egypt by air and sea.
"The reactivation was done in two phases; the first was to repair the stations and the second was to develop and upgrade them to make them better than before," Amin Shaker, the head of the transformers sector of Eleject company, in charge of the project, told the Weekly.
