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Mubarak calls Sharon

PRESIDENT Hosni Mubarak on Tuesday called Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to discuss the future of the Middle East peace process following Sharon's withdrawal from the right-wing Likud Party and his plans to form a new political party. According to a presidential statement, Mubarak stressed upon Sharon the need to abide by his commitments to resolve Palestinian-Israeli problems and promised to work with him to serve this purpose.

In Barcelona

ON SUNDAY President Hosni Mubarak is scheduled to fly to Barcelona to jointly head with British Prime Minister Tony Blair the Mediterranean summit commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Barcelona process launched to encourage political, economic and cultural cooperation around the Mediterranean basin but which has largely failed to fulfill its objectives. While in Barcelona on a two-day visit, Mubarak will stress the need to resolve political disputes in the region, especially the Arab-Israeli conflict, that has for the past decade contributed to undermining Mediterranean stability and cooperation. Mubarak is also expected to use the opportunity of his presence in Barcelona to discuss with Arab and European counterparts the need to resolve the dispute between Syria and the UN over the venue for the interrogation of six top Syrian security officials by Detlev Mehlis, the international investigator in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Al-Hariri earlier this year.

The Egyptian delegation in Barcelona is expected to present the summit with a list of ideas to energise Mediterranean cooperation. On Tuesday, during a telephone conversation with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Zabatero, Mubarak stressed the need for the summit to give a new lease of life to Mediterranean cooperation and to offer answers to serious regional problems.

Cairo-Tehran

IRANIAN Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki visited Cairo this week to participate in an Iraqi reconciliation conference. The top Iranian diplomat used the opportunity to meet with high-ranking Egyptian officials to discuss the country's relations with Egypt. Egypt and Iran have not had full diplomatic representation since the Iranian revolution toppled the secular regime of the shah in 1979.

The list of Egyptian-Iranian differences is long. It includes Cairo's complaints of alleged support by Tehran of Islamist militants; the Egyptian disappointment with Tehran over not changing the name of a main street in the Iranian capital from that of Khaled El-Islamboli, the assassin of former President Anwar El-Sadat; and the Iranian frustration with the limit imposed by Cairo over the number of entry visas provided to Iranian Shias wishing to visit the holy mausoleums of Imam Hussein and Sayeda Nafisa.

In press statements at the Heliopolis presidential headquarters and at the Foreign Ministry, Mottaki stressed his country's keenness to develop positive relations with Egypt.

The Egyptian-Iranian talks also reviewed a host of regional issues including developments in Syria and Iraq and the long-standing Egyptian initiative to establish a Middle East zone free of all weapons of mass destruction.

While in Cairo, Mottaki visited the mausoleums of Imam Hussein and Sayeda Nafisa.

Rafah to open

PRIME Minister Ahmed Nazif on Tuesday held a cabinet meeting with the ministers of defence, foreign affairs, finance and reconstruction to discuss the government's preparations for the scheduled opening of the Rafah border point that links Egypt and the Gaza Strip. The meeting, attended by the governor of North Sinai, discussed the security and logistic preparations for the opening scheduled for tomorrow.

According to Nazif's spokesman Magdi Radi, Egypt is exerting maximum efforts to secure the safe and easy operation of the border point in which more than 2,000 people a day will cross. Further discussions of the Rafah operation are expected in Cairo today between Egyptian officials and senior Palestinian security official Mohamed Dahlan.

Telecom Egypt up for grabs

TWENTY per cent of Telecom Egypt shares are to hit the market in a few days. The cabinet of ministers agreed on Tuesday to offer 20 per cent of the company, equivalent to 340 million shares, in two portions to individuals and institutions. While the floating price has yet to be decided, it is expected that the offered stake will reap some LE3.414 billion for the company.

Telecom Egypt, the incumbent operator, boasts a subscriber base of 10 million individuals and a capital of LE17 billion. Its sales revenue in 2004 was LE7.749 billion, up from LE3.1 billion in 2000.

According to the Telecom Act, and the law that transformed what was formerly known as the National Telecommunications Authority into a company, the majority of the company's ownership must remain in government hands. Up to 49 per cent can be put up for sale.

A road show where the company's management, MCIT personnel and Ministry of Investment officials visit potential investors and investment banks to conduct presentations about the company, has begun.

A consortium led by Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) including EFG-Hermes and Commercial International Bank (CIB), is the financial adviser for the privatisation process.

The government initially planned to privatise the company in 2000, but at the time the investment bank advised the company not to sell due to the downturn telecommunications stocks witnessed worldwide. This time around, experts believe, local and international stock markets are more receptive.

Poverty down

OSMAN Mohamed Osman, minister of planning, has announced that various indicators reveal an improvement in economic performance. Osman said the poverty rate had fallen to around 20 per cent of GDP compared to much higher rates between 2000 and 2003. He attributed the decrease to an improved growth rate of five per cent and an inflation rate also of five per cent. The growth rate during 2000-2003 had stagnated at 2.5 per cent, while inflation jumped as high as 16 per cent during the same period partly due to the depreciation of the Egyptian pound.

Speaking at a three-day conference in Alexandria organised by the Ministry of Planning, Osman added that the real challenge facing the Egyptian economy was unemployment which is currently estimated at two million people. He said the government was planning to reduce the unemployment rate to 4.5 per cent by 2015. According to Mubarak's electoral programme, 4.5 million jobs will be created during the next six years to absorb new graduates in addition to the existing unemployed workforce. Osman also forecast that the Egyptian economy will grow by seven per cent next year and can achieve a nine per cent growth rate in four years.