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From left: Mubarak at Al-Ahram's print house in 6 October City welcomed by management: El-Ghamri, Saraya and Mohamed Taymour Abdel-Hassib; and with senior Ahram editors Assem El-Kersh, Ibrahim Hegazy, Labib El-Sebai, Essam Rifaat, Salama A Salama and Salah Montasser

A VISIT to the fortress of journalism was how many papers, including of course Al-Ahram daily, chose to coin the Sunday call made by President Hosni Mubarak to the print house of Al-Ahram in 6 October City, on the outskirts of the capital.

Meant to mark the 130th anniversary of the launch of Al-Ahram, the visit was also interpreted by Al-Ahram 's senior staff, including Chairman of the Board Salah El-Ghamri and editor-in-chief of the daily paper, Osama Saraya, as a clear sign of support for the role of journalism in Egypt. Shura Council speaker, Safwat El-Sherif, who overseas the state-run Higher Council for Press, told reporters on Sunday that Mubarak's visit to Al-Ahram is a strong vote of confidence in this leading daily and a message of support to all journalists who keenly serve the national interests of the country.

The visit came against a backdrop of tension between the state and some independent and opposition papers that have been officially reprimanded by a report issued by El-Sherif for their aggressive criticism of top state officials, including the president of the republic.

While touring a gallery set out by Al-Ahram to demonstrate the evolution of its printing techniques since its establishment in the 19th century and the leading front pages it carried through over a century, President Mubarak made no statements but exchanged a few words with leading journalists and commentators of Al-Ahram and the editors of Al-Ahram 's other daily and weekly publications who were present at his reception.

However, in an interview accorded to the editor-in-chief of Al-Ahram on Saturday, Mubarak expressed special respect for Al-Ahram that he described as "an influential school of journalism that has had a large impact on the lives of Egyptians." Mubarak's interview with Saraya also included clear statements on the declared commitment of the president to freedom of expression "as a clear constitutional right". However, Mubarak insisted that "such a freedom should not allow journalists to infringe on the freedoms of others or to exercise slander."

Present at Al-Ahram 's printing house during Sunday's visit were top state officials including Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif, Defence Minister Abdel-Halim Tantawi, Parliament Speaker Fathi Sorour and several ministers including Anas El-Fiqi, minister of information. This was Mubarak's fifth visit to Al-Ahram since he took office in 1981.

Former presidents Gamal Abdel-Nasser and Anwar El-Sadat have also visited Al-Ahram.