June 2, 2006

THE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM CONCLUDES ITS DELIBERATIONS IN SHARM EL-SHEIKH AND THE NEXT MEETING WILL BE HELD IN JORDAN IN 2007. PRESIDENT MUBARAK: THE ROAD IS STILL LONG TO REALIZE MORE REFORMS; THAT SHOULD BE ACHIEVED OVER THE NEXT SIX YEARS. INTENSIVE MEETINGS BETWEEN MUBARAK, THE PALESTINIAN PRESIDENT AND THE ISRAELI DELEGATION IN SHARM EL-SHEIKH. THE EGYPTIAN PRESIDENT LAUDS THE DIALOGUE PROCESS IN LEBANON. LEBANESE-PALESTINIAN CONSULTATIONS AT THE OUTSET OF THE FORUM TO DEVELOP RELATIONS BETWEEN BOTH SIDES. President Hosni Mubarak opened the World Economic Forum on the Middle East with more than 1,500 leading international figures attending. The theme of this year's meeting was entitled "The promise of a new generation" and brings to the fore for debate and discussion a variety of political, social and economic topics related to the Middle East. During the three-day forum, the participants discussed a wide array of political and strategic issues topped by economic development, human resources development, enhancing competitiveness of the state economies, besides the issues of education, unemployment and armament. The participants held a seminar on change and reform in the Arab region. This seminar was addressed by Gamal Mubarak, the Assistant Secretary General of the National Democratic Party and the Policies Secretary, the Prime Ministers of Turkey and Pakistan, the advisor of the King of Jordan. Another session was held on AIDS and a third one was held on future ides. On the second day, the forum held a session on international dialogue and cooperation which was attended by the prime ministers of Egypt, Malaysia and Lebanon. Another session was held on Palestinian economy and was attended by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Deputy Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres. A session was held on the Egyptian US relations and was attended by ten Congressmen. A plenary session was held on freedoms, and reform in the Middle East. The forum witnessed six other sessions on the developments of capital markets, stock exchange, globalization, political developments in Israel, the role of youth in making peace. President Hosni Mubarak said peace and progress are forever interconnected and the peace and progress of the Middle East are an inseparable part of that of the world at large. Addressing the inaugural session of the World Economic Forum on the Middle East, the President said that the Middle East, this strategic part of the world, yearns for peace, stability and development. Our region, he said, is passing through a very important phase on its road to attain democracy and economic and social reform and looks forward with confidence and hope towards building a better future for its people and nations. The President welcomed world leaders, politicians, businessmen and intellectuals who are gathered in this Egyptian Red Sea resort to attend the occasion and voiced appreciation of all the efforts exerted by Klaus Schwab, Executive Chairman and Founder of the WEF, to help Egypt host the event. Today's WEF talks come at a most significant stage in the history of the Middle East that over these two years witnessed numerous political and economic developments and achievements and saw the emergence of many hopes and chances and many difficulties and challenges, Mubarak said. He said that holding the Sharm-hosted talks under the title "The promise of a new generation" was a matter of special indication for it sums up the aspirations and hopes of the people of the Middle East for a future that brings about peace and prosperity for them and for the world as a whole. He said that he expects that the talks, to be held in this city over the next two days, would assert the inter-link between the peace and security of the Middle East and that of the Euro-Mediterranean and the Euro-Atlantic and address the impact of this connection on global stability and economic growth. President Mubarak in his speech at the inaugural session of the WEF in Sharm al-Sheikh noted that the world was making its first steps in the new millennium with a new way of thinking and successive developments in the world of science and knowledge. The phenomenon of globalization is opening up new horizons of hope for a better future at a time when it poses several challenges and dangers, added the President. Mubarak explained that the gains of globalization included easy access to information thanks to the information technology revolution while threats were reflected in a deepening gap between the rich and the poor of the world. The burden of facing such a state of affairs is shouldered by both the developed and developing countries alike, with a view to attaining a globalisation invested with a humanitarian nature, said the President. All are facing the challenge of an increase in energy prices in a way that jeopardizes international economic performance at large, added the President. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, in his inaugural speech at the WEF, noted that Egypt was extending its hand for everybody to work together in the face of challenges posed by globalization. These concerted efforts are required to create a better world; a more peaceful and stable one, said President Mubarak. He explained that the hoped-for world should be allowing pluralism, adhering to international legitimacy and steering away from unilateral policies. The hoped-for world, added Mubarak, should be able to create a more viable system of social security and work earnestly for a just and comprehensive settlement of all pending disputes and issues. That world, added the President, should stand up to terrorism and its evils, work to eradicate racial discrimination and extremism and confront bigotry and clash of civilizations. President Mubarak noted also that everybody should seek to create a world that could deal effectively with the issue of weapons of mass destruction, atop of which come nuclear weapons, away from politicizing the issue. The Middle East region is part and parcel of the world at large, said Mubarak, noting that the region possessed huge human resources that could build up an expanding industrial base and a large market for trade and investments. The region has huge oil and natural gas reserves, said Mubarak, adding that the region with its massive natural wealth was contributing to the growth of international economy and stability. President Mubarak, in his inaugural speech at the World Economic Forum, noted that the winds of change have already blown on the region. These winds are blowing from inside the region carrying with them the hopes and aspirations of its peoples, added the President. The region has attained over the past few years marked achievements down the track of reform, said the President. This reform process is not a goal in itself, but rather a means of improving the living conditions of the ordinary citizen. This reform should keep an eye on helping the poor families and sustaining women and should side with the low-income brackets in the society. President Mubarak indicated that some parties thought that proposing the issue of reform in the region would be able to impose a solution to the Palestinian question by way of settling the problem outside international legitimacy and the peace process terms of reference. President Mubarak said he had warned time and again against such a state of affairs. Such an analysis of the regional situation, said Mubarak, does not have a clear vision of the region's conditions and its problems. The Palestinian question and Arab-Israeli peace will remain the central issue governing the region's stability and security, said Mubarak, noting that reaching a just settlement to the issue would eventually have positive effects on regional stability and security. The international community, asserted the President, should undertake its responsibility for dealing with the Middle East issue. President Mubarak urged the international Quartet and other regional and international parties concerned to join hands in this respect. President Hosni Mubarak further added that Egypt has initiated the peace process in the Middle East and exerted all possible efforts to pilot it to safety away from all logjams and hindrances. Egypt, said Mubarak, still has hope about the future of peace in the Middle East. Egypt, he added, will maintain its efforts with the Palestinian and Israeli sides to go back to the negotiating table and will keep up its endeavours to push up the peace process on all tracks in the hope of reaching a just and durable peace in the region. Egypt, said Mubarak, is seeking to have a Middle East peace that closes the Arab-Israeli file for good and establishes an equitable regional security order President Mubarak said that Egypt, with its geographical location as the core of the Middle East, is shouldering its regional responsibility towards the challenges and dangers engulfing the region. Egypt, said Mubarak, has started the reform process a long time ago. The political arena in Egypt is now rich with successive and unprecedented developments. The road is still long to realize more reforms that should be achieved over the coming six years, said President Mubarak. Problems are still ahead of us, said Mubarak, expressing his full confidence over consummating the reform process in a successful way. The Arab League Secretary General said U.S. charges that Iran wants to build nuclear weapons had no credibility in the Arab world and demanded that the allegation be supported by proof from the U.N. nuclear watchdog. Amr Mousa further declared that Arabs want the whole region to be free of nuclear weapons, including the arsenal Israel is believed to possess. «The Middle East does not need a military nuclear program, be it Iranian, Israeli or other,» mousse told a news conference at the world economic forum meeting on the middle east. «Our goal and interest is to have a middle east free of nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction.» Moussa and other Arab leaders ask why the west overlooks Israel's alleged weapons development, while pressing Iran to drop a program it claims is for peaceful purposes. «Why should Israel be special?» Moussa asked. «We're all scared of a nuclear weapon, whether it is with country a or country b.» He said Arabs were unconvinced by u.s. charges and European concerns over Iran given what they see as a double standard. «For this reason, the policy aimed at the Iranian nuclear program does not enjoy credibility and comprehensive support in the middle east,» he said. Moussa said Iran and other Middle Eastern countries that have signed the nuclear non-proliferation treaty had the right to develop civilian nuclear power programs, but weapons production was banned. «If there is an Iranian military nuclear program - and I underline if -(proof of) it should be based on documented information from the international atomic energy agency, not on information coming from here and there,» he said. Moussa said he had no confidence in the current claims, emanating from Washington and Israel. «It has been proven in the Iraq war that there was information that was deliberately or inadvertently false.... information must come from an international organization that is credible and responsible,» he said. His remarks made reference to the bush administration's use of claims that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction as a rationale for invading the country and removing him from power in 2003. The weapons allegations proved false. President Mahmoud Abbas said that he is committed to put the results of negotiations with the Israelis to a general referendum. In a speech before the World Economic Forum on the Middle East in the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh, President Abbas stressed that "peace is not merely the signature of leaders, it will need the approval of the people, and hence came the idea of a general referendum." He emphasised that "we will continue to work together to achieve a historical peace treaty between the Palestinian and Israeli sides." "It is time to end occupation and conflict in the holy land, President Abbas said. "I know that this is the aim and objective of the vast majority of Israelis and Palestinians and all peoples in the area and worldwide, in order to live in peace, stability and prosperity for all." "We have no choice but to resume a meaningful peace process that leads to the implementation of the Road Map," the President added. "The only way we have is a real peace process that leads to ending the occupation and ending conflict on the basis of implementation of the relevant resolutions of international legality addressing to all the issues reserved for permanent status negotiations (Jerusalem, settlements, borders, refugees and water) and many other issues of common interest." President Abbas said that some may say how can you resume negotiations with the existence of a Palestinian government that does not recognise Israel? "I say that I will continue to exert every possible effort to obtain the agreement of the Palestinian government to my political platform, especially regarding the political solution to the conflict and negotiations to establish two states." "The political negotiations with the Israeli government are the historical choice of the Palestinian people and are the responsibility and the jurisdiction of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) which executive committee I head. Negotiations will take place through the Negotiations Affairs Department of the PLO," he added. "The Palestinian government will not object to this and will not create obstacles before these talks." The President expressed hope that the new Israeli government will abandon the slogan of "no partner", and accept our invitation to return to the negotiating table. "The drawing of the final borders cannot happen through dictations, but rather in the negotiations." He warned that "unilateralism will quickly put an end to the two-state solution and will increase violence." President Abbas expressed his deepest gratitude to Egypt and for President Mohammed Hosni Mubarak for his unwavering commitment to achieve a historic, lasting, comprehensive and just solution that will guarantee the establishment of a Palestinian state next to the state of Israel. President Mahmoud Abbas met with the Secretary General of the League of Arab States, Amr Moussa in the Egyptian resort of Sharm al-Sheikh, on the margin of the World Economic Forum on the Middle East. The President briefed Moussa on the latest developments in the Palestinian territories in light of Israeli escalation and the dire economical situation due to siege and suspension of international aid to the Palestinian people. President Mahmoud Abbas held two separate meetings with President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and Fouad Siniora, the Prime Minister of Lebanon, in Sharm Al-Sheikh resort in Egypt. Abbas briefed Mubarak on the results of his meeting with the Israeli Vice Prime Minister, Shimon Peres, the Foreign Minister, Tzipi Livni. The two presidents discussed the latest Palestinian developments in the Palestinian territories in the shadow of the Israeli escalation and halting the international assistance. Abbas and Mubarak asserted on the necessity of going back to the negotiation table and implementation of the Road Map. Later on, President Abbas held talks with the Prime Minister of Lebanon. They talked on various topics especially the issue of the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. They talked on the economic crisis the Palestinian people live as a result of the Israeli siege and the suspension of the international aid. President Abbas also met with the Secretary General of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu. They discussed the Israeli military escalation and the economic hardships in the Palestinian territories. On the second day of the World Economic Forum, the political nature dominated the official sessions and the bilateral meetings among politicians and businessmen. The Palestinian cause occupied a big part of intensive meetings held by President Mubarak with a number of leaders and officials taking part in the forum. In this context, President Mubarak discussed with the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas the developments in the occupied Palestinian territories and efforts exerted by President Mubarak to communicate assistance to the Palestinian people, efforts to settle inter-Palestinian disagreements as well as efforts by President Mubarak for resuming Palestinian-Israeli meetings. President Mubarak, for the second time, received Deputy Israeli Premier and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni for completing talks they held early yesterday in presence of the two countries delegations. "Livni wanted to raise topics she could not discuss with the President at the early meeting especially those related to the situation in the Palestinian territories and the developments brought about by the new Israeli elections and the formation of a Hamas-led Palestinian government," said ambassador Soliman Awwad, the Presidential spokesman. Livni said Egypt plays a key role in political dialogue between Israel and Hamas on one side and between Israel and the Palestinian Authority chairman on the other. President Mubarak received Lebanese President Emile Lahoud who made a briefing on the Lebanese and regional developments. During the meeting, Lahoud said Lebanon welcomes any effort to enhance security and stability between Lebanon and Syria. President Mubarak received the Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, who takes part in the World Economic Forum. The two sides tackled the latest developments in the region, particularly on the Lebanese arena with emphasis on Lebanese- Syrian relations and the Palestinian territories. Siniora described the meeting as "fruitful", noting that he posted Mubarak on the conditions in Lebanon and listened to his views on various issues. The Lebanese Premier highlighted Egypt's continued support to his country; adding that he would keep contacts with Mubarak, especially on Lebanese issue. Siniora said he posted Mubarak on offensive by armed refugees in Lebanon, noting that they opened fire at Lebanese citizens and army personnel. Meantime, he noted that the United Nations Security Council recently issued a resolution calling for establishing diplomatic ties between Lebanon and Syria. President Mubarak held a meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Talks took up bilateral relations, developments on the Palestinian and Israeli arenas and the Iranian nuclear file. The two leaders also followed up on Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer's recent visit to Cairo and a proposed visit by Mubarak to Turkey. Mubarak also received Malysian Premier Abdullah Badawi, said the Presidential spokesman, adding that the two leaders discussed regional and international developments. The President later received US Secretary of the Treasury, John W. Snow who listened to Mubarak's views on the Iranian nuclear standoff and the situation in Iraq. On Iran, Mubarak said the diplomatic channels must be used to settle the crisis, highlighting efforts exerted by the EU and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in this domain. "Mubarak met two US Congressmen for talks on the latest developments in the region," said presidential Spokesman Suleiman Awwad. Talks also took up bilateral ties and cooperation, he added. The Senators congratulated the President on the successful WEF session organized by Egypt. At the plenary session which was attended by the premiers of Egypt, Turkey, Malaysian and Lebanon, the participants stressed the importance of enhancing understanding among peoples and governments in order to avoid wars and conflicts. The participants addressed an important message to the world renewing the willingness of Arab and Islamic peoples to maintain world peace and security. A special session was held on the future of the Arab- American relations with Congressmen renewing the desire of the U.S. people to establish balanced and strong relations with the Arab world. President Mubarak received a US delegation under James Colby, chairman of the US Senate Appropriations and Foreign Operations Sub-Committee. Colby thanked the President for his efforts supportive of this partnership, establishing peace in Palestinian territories, contribution to supporting war against terrorism and his courageous role in endorsing peace in Darfur. Colby also said that he discussed with Mubarak the economic assistance to the Palestinians, saying that Egypt and the US see eye to eye on the importance of the delivery of international assistance to the Palestinians so as to avoid the outbreak of a humanitarian crisis. At the Forum Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said his country was holding a national dialogue to resolve its problems, noting that halting dialogue plunged Lebanon into civil war several years ago. The Lebanese national dialogue was seeking to establish balanced relations with Syria, he added, calling on Arab countries to support the Lebanese dialogue to swiftly resolve the Lebanese problems. He further noted that the dialogue aimed at ending the Palestinian armed presence in the country. Regarding a report on the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik AL-Hariri, Siniora expected the report to be issued on June 25, calling for establishing an international court to punish all those who had a hand in such an abhorrent crime. The Lebanese-Palestinian file was also discussed on the sidelines of the forum in the meeting held between Lahoud and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who affirmed to the Lebanese president that the PLO bureau in Beirut would be the umbrella of all Palestinian factions and one its goals main goals is to open dialogue with the Lebanese government. Abbas told reporters that there was no problem between the Palestinians and the Lebanese that could not be solved. Prince Turki Al-Faisal, the Saudi ambassador to the United States and the chairman of the board of directors of King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies, is participating in the The World Economic Forum, which was inaugurated by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Prince Turki Al-Faisal and minister of state Abdullah Al-Zeinal Ali Riza arrived in Sharam-al-sheikh last night to participate in the 3-day Forum. The World Economic Forum (WEF) on the Middle East was concluded in Sharm el-Sheikh, winning acclaims for its role in helping resume contacts between senior Palestinian and Israeli officials. The three-day forum came to a conclusion in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt. During the forum, under the theme of "The Promise of a New Generation," participants from 46 countries held some 30 debate sessions with topics focusing on the Palestinian-Israeli relations, economic reforms, youth and unemployment, and regional stability and peace. Although WEF organizers said before the meeting that this year's forum would be focusing on economic and business issues, differing from the previous three meetings in Jordan dominated by politics, yet what drew most attention was still the Palestinian-Israeli relations and other geopolitical tensions. Meanwhile, Arab economies, which have witnessed a high growth thanks to surging oil prices and economic reforms, also drew much attention from the participants in the meeting. With tightened security, the meeting came less than one month after five suicide bomb attacks hit Sinai peninsula in late April. Three bombs rocked Dahab on April 24 and two others rattled al-Gurah on April 26. The forum, modeled on the WEF's annual meeting at Davos, Switzerland, is held as a platform for world leaders to discuss economic reforms, unemployment and regional stability and peace in the troubled Middle East. Next year's WEF meeting on the Middle East will go back to Jordan, said Klaus Schwab, WEF founder and executive chairman.