Source: Press Office - Minister's Cabinet
Published at: 21/09/2010
H.E. Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Minister of Foreign Affairs stated that President Mubarak's visit on the 22nd of September to Germany and Italy comes within the framework of the President's continuous efforts to provide the peace process between the Palestinians and the Israelis with the ultimate support possible. The Foreign Minister pointed that the current phase demands entangling efforts at the international level in order to preserve the continuity of the peace process, which is still at its early stages.
H.E. Aboul Gheit added that President Mubarak intends to inform the German and Italian sides on the developments of the talks and on Egypt's views in order to surpass the obstacles on the peace track in the upcoming phase and means to eliminate them. He underlined that Egypt believes the European role in the peace process to be pivotal and indispensable, since the first talks session was launched in Madrid nineteen years before, then in Oslo and the other negotiation rounds. H.E. Aboul Gheit said that the European countries had played all the time a positive and balanced role in the peace process, and that the Arab side highly appreciates the European stances supporting the Palestinian right in an independent state within the borders of the 4th of June 1967.
H.E. Aboul Gheit underscored that there is converging views between Egypt, Italy and Germany concerning the action to be taken to transcend the obstacle of freezing the settlements in order to carry on negotiations. He added that President Mubarak's vision is that the peace process cannot - and should not - be jeopardized at the beginning for the sake of building some settlements here or there. It is for the Israeli side to realize the gravity and criticality of the upcoming stage which needs to decide on the issue of discontinuing establishing settlements, in order to carry on negotiations, thus, putting preconditions and hindrances will not be in the interest of anyone.
H.E. Aboul Gheit mentioned that Mubarak's meeting with the German Chancellor Miracle and Italian Prime Minister Burliskoni will tackle the situation in the Middle East, including that of Iraq and Lebanon, as well as other regional and international issues. Furthermore, the President will discuss, during his visit to the two countries, the ongoing arrangements to hold the Second Summit of the Union for the Mediterranean scheduled to be held in Barcelona on 21st November 2010. The views on the issues to be discussed in the summit will be tackled, especially that Egypt assumes the co-presidency of the Union.
President Mubarak will discuss with the German Chancellor Miracle and Italian Prime Minister Burliskoni means to boost Egyptian bilateral relations with both countries, which witness significant boost, represented in holding the third strategic summit between Egypt and Italy in Rome on 19 May 2010, during which a large number of agreements and memoranda of Understanding were signed in different fields. It is expected to follow up the implementation of the bilateral Plan of Action signed in 2009, which covers the period until 2012, and to agree on the date of holding the fourth summit next year in Cairo. It is also scheduled to see the proper time to carry on the postponed visit of Chancellor Miracle to Cairo, which had been scheduled in July 2009.