Al-Ahram Weekly | Front Page

		Al-Ahram Weekly Online 14 - 20 June 2001 Issue No.538
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875		Current issue \| Previous issue \| Site map

Annan tour
UN SECRETARY- GENERAL Kofi Annan arrived in Cairo on Tuesday for a whirlwind tour of six destinations, including Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, the Palestinian territories and Israel, reports Nevine Khalil. Annan began his tour with a visit to Egypt for talks with President Hosni Mubarak, Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher and Arab League Secretary- General Amr Moussa.
After meeting with Mubarak yesterday morning, Annan said that implementing all the recommendations of the Mitchell report is a necessity, and that the report is the basis for consolidating US, EU and UN efforts to restore calm and stability to the region.
Annan also praised CIA Director George Tenet's efforts to reach agreement on security issues between the Palestinians and Israelis, but called for a push towards "the diplomatic process in order to ensure that the cease-fire holds for a longer time."
Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher declared that Cairo wants to see a re-launch of negotiations as soon as possible. "Discussions of security and political issues are inseparable. They go hand in hand," said Maher.
While Annan noted the suffering of the Palestinians under siege, he indicated that it was unlikely that Palestinian civilians will come under the protection of UN forces. "I know their pain [but international protection] is not on the Security Council's agenda. We discussed it once, it was not approved, and I am not aware that the Council will take it up [again] any time soon," he said.
Media day
EGYPT yesterday celebrated Media Day, in a ceremony sponsored by the Ministry of Information. President Hosni Mubarak was scheduled to attend festivities yesterday evening at Media City, and was expected to launch a number of projects and infrastructure units there.
Traditionally, the president also holds an open discussion with leading figures from broadcasting and the press.

Recommend this page

© Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved

Send a letter to the Editor

ARCHIVES
Letter from the Editor
Editorial Board
Subscription
Advertise!

WEEKLY ONLINE: www.ahram.org.eg/weekly
Updated every Saturday at 11.00 GMT, 2pm local time
weeklyweb@ahram.org.eg

Al-Ahram Organisation