Strategic dialogue postponed

---

By Aziza Sami

EGYPTIAN Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher and United States Secretary of State Colin Powell were scheduled to meet in Washington for a session of strategic talks between the two countries on 7 April. Maher had announced that the meetings were to be held in preparation for President Hosni Mubarak's visit to the US.

The session, however, was postponed due to Maher's unexpected hospitalisation to "undergo routine medical tests" according to the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, reports Aziza Sami.

Maher was also scheduled to meet US Under Secretary of State Richard Armitage, and several State Department officials.

The strategic dialogue was launched in 1998 at Egypt's request, as a means of "institutionalising" and maintaining talks between the two countries on a "ministerial level". The main idea is to enable each side to air its position on relevant issues, bringing to the fore points of agreement and difference, in both the immediate and longer terms. The focal points of the dialogue have remained the Middle East peace process, Gulf security and regional stability. Bilateral economic and military committees are also slated to meet every six months alternately in Egypt and the US, discussing present ties and future expansions of economic and military cooperation.

However, despite emphasis by both sides on the "strategic" nature of the relationship between Egypt and the US, statements by officials -- again on both sides -- indicate that the dialogue has come to a virtual standstill and that it still needs to be "energised" and "activated". An announcement that new talks would be held during Mubarak's current US visit was made by Maher in January, during a visit to Cairo by US Assistant Secretary of State for Middle East Affairs William Burns.

Prior to the cancellation of his trip, the foreign minister had underlined that Mubarak's visit would have "special significance" in light of the current important and pressing issues set to be discussed, referring to the situation in Palestine and Iraq, and the Greater Middle East Initiative.