Davos Forum in Sharm el-Sheikh ends

President Mubarak stresses importance of realizing peace, U.S. president calls for reforms

Omani Sultan leaves Sharm el-Sheikh after talks with Egyptian president on regional developments

The Middle East aspires for peace, stability and development, but its hopes have not materialized, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said.

"The Middle East is passing through an important stage on the road of political, social and economic reform and possesses all the natural, strategic and human resources that enable it to proceed towards progress and prosperity," Mubarak told the inaugural session of the World Economic Forum held in the Egyptian Red Sea beach resort of Sharm el-Sheik.

The promise of peace in the Middle East did not materialize and neither did the stability of this sensitive region, he said, referring to the situation in Iraq, Lebanon, Darfur and Somalia.

Any objective evaluation of regional and international developments over the past two years will prove that the Middle East's hopes for peace, stability and prosperity were not realized and that the international climate did not support or back these legitimate aspirations, he said.

The Egyptian leader asserted commitment to pressing ahead with reforms on all tracks and pursuing the march toward attaining regional peace, security and stability.

Egypt is proceeding with its democratic reforms that aim to boost the principle of pluralism and reactivate its political life, Mubarak said.

The pace of Egypt's economic reforms has accelerated over the past four years and Egypt has already taken bold steps to overhaul its tax, customs and banking sectors and to create an investment-encouraging atmosphere to lure private capital, liberalize its economy and open up to the world, he said.

Egypt has also introduced parallel social reforms to promote social justice, he said.

The Egyptians are resolved to go ahead on the road of reform supported by their international partners to nurture true trade and investment ties with the outside world, he said.

Realizing just peace is the key to maintaining Middle East security and stability, Mubarak said.

He said that the Palestinian problem is the core and crux of all conflicts of the Middle East, asserting that injustice is the main cause of the mounting wave of terrorism in the world.

Attaining a just and overall peace in the Middle East is the only way to eradicate terrorism and extremism, he said.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak called for an urgent international dialogue that brings together food and energy exporters and importers in both the advanced and developing countries to work out solutions that secure people's needs of food and at the same time maintain energy supplies needed to push the world economy forward.

"This will be the call I'm going to forward at the Food and Agriculture Organization meeting in Rome next month," Mubarak added.

"I hope that this meeting will be able to put the major industrialized countries and the developing ones on the right track to contain the current crisis," he said.

The acute economic crisis witnessed by the world today is highly complicated in its intertwined economic and social dimensions and in its direct connection to such important global issues as climate change, energy supplies and water resources and its link to food security, economic growth rates and the living standards in both the developed and developing worlds, the Egyptian leader told the WEF inaugural session. Food security must be provided for the poor and "I consider this as a main challenge to the world," he told the inaugural session of the World Economic Forum currently in session in this Egyptian Red Sea resort.

It is nonsense to continue to use subsidized agricultural food products in making biofuel while the world food crisis is getting worse, Mubarak said. "It is an absurdity to choose to fill our tanks with gas over putting dinner on our tables," Mubarak said.

The world community needs to reassess the true cost of producing biofuel and "the impact of the conversion to biofuel production on our societies, our environment and our food security", he said.

He said dealing with the harmful effects of climate change is a collective and combined responsibility.

He renewed his welcome of US President George Bush's vision of a two-state solution that guarantees the establishment of an independent Palestinian state that peacefully lives alongside the state of Israel.

U.S. President George Bush said he is still hoping that Egypt would lead the Middle East region to implementing political reforms that should go hand in hand with economic development.

Addressing the Davos Forum, Bush said he believes that the Middle East is capable of creating a better future despite challenges besetting it.

He said the Middle East region has a chance to move forward and carry out reforms to achieve progress.

About 1,500 senior officials and businessmen from 70 countries participate in the forum.

"Laura and I are delighted to be in Egypt, and we bring with us the warm wishes of the American people. We are proud of our long friendship with your citizens. We respect your remarkable history. And we are humbled to walk in the ancient land of pharaohs, where a great civilization took root and wrote some of the first chapters in the epic story of humanity," US President George Bush said while addressing the Davos Forum.

"America is a much younger nation, but we have made our mark by advancing ideals as old as the Pyramids. Those ideals of liberty and justice have sparked a revolution across much of the world," he said.

"This hopeful movement made its way to places where dictators once reigned and peaceful democracies seemed unimaginable: places like Chile, Indonesia, Poland, the Philippines, and South Korea. These nations have different histories and different traditions. Yet each made the same democratic transition, and they did it on their own terms," he said.

"All of these changes took place in the second half of the 20th century. I strongly believe that if leaders like those of you in this room act with vision and resolve, the first half of the 21st century can be the time when similar advances reach the Middle East," Bush said.

"This region is home to energetic people, a powerful spirit of enterprise, and tremendous resources. It is capable of a very bright future -- a future in which the Middle East is a place of innovation and discovery, driven by free men and women, Bush said.

"In recent years, we have seen hopeful beginnings toward this vision. Turkey -- a nation with a majority Muslim population -- is a prosperous modern democracy. Afghanistan under the leadership of President Karzai is overcoming the Taliban and building a free society. Iraq under the leadership of Prime Minister Maliki is establishing a multi-ethnic democracy," he said.

"We have seen the stirrings of reform from Morocco and Algeria to Jordan and the Gulf States. And isolation from the outside world is being overcome by the most democratic of inventions: the cell phone and the internet," he said.

King Abdullah II of Jordan affirmed to participants at the World Economic Forum that the future of Middle East starts by lifting the shadow of catastrophe and that celebrations of independence will remain hollow while lasting peace is still denied because of unhealed wrongs. He added that a negotiated settlement, with all its hard choices, remains the only option and nothing else will do. "Not armed, unilateral action. Not barriers. Force and isolation bring false peace - and false peace is false security," he said.

After 60 years, it is past time to create a new basis for the future, one that recognizes the needs of all, he said.

"For Palestinians, such agreement promises true independence: a state that can stand on its own, an intact land within sovereign borders, capable of fruitful economic life, and secure, sustainable national development."

"For Israelis, it brings true security: an end to conflict and relationships of respect and cooperation across the region," said the King.

Iran is making only slow progress in enriching uranium for use in nuclear applications, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in Berlin.

IAEA General Secretary Mohamed el-Baradei said the UN nuclear watchdog is well informed on the current situation in Iran, dpa reported on its website.

Tehran's enrichment program was based on the first-generation centrifuges of the P1 type, el-Baradei said after meeting German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, although research was underway into developing more sophisticated centrifuges.

Iran had increased the number of its centrifuges from 3,000 to 3,300 or 3,400, he said.

El-Baradei stressed the need for continued dialogue to resolve the conflict over the nuclear program between the international community and Tehran.

Steinmeier said work was underway on a new dialogue proposal but it was not certain whether Tehran would accept an offer.

The five permanent members of the UN Security Council - the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France - along with Germany have been seeking to pressure Tehran to comply with its commitments as a signatory to the NPT nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

Egyptian President held several meeting with other presidents who took part in the WEF.

The Egyptian and Kazakh leaders had talks on means of fostering bilateral cooperation in various domains.

The meeting between Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and his Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev fell within the framework of Egypt's keenness on bolstering cooperation with states of middle Asia and the Caucasus region, especially in the fields of trade and investment as Egypt imports wheat from Kazakhstan.

The two leaders also exchanged views on an array of regional and international issues, including the Middle East peace process.

He also received visiting Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan.

They exchanged views on means of boosting bilateral cooperation in the various spheres, especially in the trade and investment domains.

Mubarak and Babacan also discussed a host of regional issues of joint interest, topped by the Mideast peace march, the Iranian file along with the current conditions in Iraq and Lebanon.

Egypt's president met also with former Italian prime minister Romano Prodi.

Talks covered bilateral relations in the various domains, especially in the trade and investment areas.

The talks also tackled a future visit by president Mubarak to Italy at which he will take part in an international summit to be organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Rome on the world food crisis.

Attending the meeting were Egyptian Trade and Industry Minister Rashid Mohamed Rashid and some senior Italian embassy staffers in Egypt.

Mubarak received also Algerian Minister of Industry and Promotion of Investments Abdelhamid Temmar on the sidelines of his participation in the Davos World Economic Forum.

During the meeting President Mubarak was handed over a message from his Algerian counterpart Abdulaziz Bouteflika.

The Egyptian president also discussed with the Algerian minister means of boosting bilateral ties, especially in light of the positive outcome of a higher Egyptian-Algerian committee meeting held recently in Algeria.

He held another meeting with the Cypriot tourism minister on means of promoting bilateral cooperation.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Cypriot Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism Andonis Paschalides also exchanged views on the Egyptian-European relations in light of Cyprus' accession to the EU.

The two sides also tackled a host of Mediterranean issues, including France's proposal on establishing a Mediterranean union.

The Cypriot ambassador to Egypt attended the meeting that was held on the fringe of the World Economic Forum.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak discussed with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak efforts to push forward Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations.

Mubarak and Barak also tackled Egypt's efforts to reach a lull in Gaza Strip and alleviate Gazans' sufferings.

Egyptian Defense and Military Production Minister Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit and Minister Omar Suleiman attended the talks.

Israeli Ambassador in Cairo Shalom Cohen and several Israeli officials were also present.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the Palestinians do not want the Americans to negotiate on their behalf.

"All we want from them is to stand by the side of legitimacy and exercise minimum impartiality," Abbas told the press after talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak at the Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheikh.

"The Palestinian side has a clear position that rests on international legitimacy, which it talked about with both the American and Israeli sides. And it is through this position that we do not want the Americans to negotiate on our behalf," he said.

"As far as the Israelis are concerned, we negotiate with them. But we do not want to sell illusions and say that issues have been solved or that they would end soon," he said.

"Negotiations are proceeding with Israel and all files remain open, he said. Not one single file has been closed yet," he said.

Any other talk is untrue, he said.

The opportunity for peace that US President George Bush spoke about in Annapolis and Paris exists this year, he said.

"Let us make use of this opportunity until we get to the end. If we reach a solution, it would be welcomed by all. But if we do not, we did everything we could," he said.

Abbas reiterated his refusal of the Hamas coup in the Gaza Strip and said the Islamic movement should recognize international legitimacy.

"We are ready for early presidential and legislative elections," he said.

Speaking about President Bush's address to the Knesset, Abbas said: "Frankly speaking, the Bush address to the Knesset has angered us and it did not please us. And we have many reservations on it."

Abbas said he conveyed this opinion to Bush very clearly and frankly at a meeting and asked that the American position be objective.

Neither America nor anybody else can give the green light to give up Jerusalem, Abbas said commenting on Bush's address to the Knesset.

"We Palestinians place the issue of Arab Jerusalem on every negotiating table with the Israelis, because we insist that East Jerusalem is the capital of a Palestinian state, thus nobody can act as a proxy for someone else in give it up. This is categorically rejected," he said.

One cannot talk about progress on the Palestinian-Israeli negotiating track unless negotiations on all files are closed, but one cannot talk about failure either, he said.

So far, there is no failure but serious and in-depth talk on all issues, Abbas said.

Egyptian President Mubarak met with Israeli opposition Likud party leader Benjamin Netanyahu.

Talks covered the latest Palestinian-Israeli developments and efforts to promote the Middle East peace process.

Meanwhile, Sultan Qaboos Bin Saeed of Oman left Sharm el-Sheikh, wrapping up a several days' visit to Egypt during which he had talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

The talks dealt with means of boosting bilateral cooperation in the various domains along with other issues of common concern.

President Mubarak was on hand to see Sultan Qaboos off at the Sharm El Sheikh International Airport.