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Wednesday, July 18, 2001
Following is the text of President Mubarak’s interview with Xinhua: Q:Relations between Egypt and China have been developing for many years with ease. The two countries have identical or extremely semi-identical views on a number of international and regional issues. Bilateral cooperation received a push in various fields during the past years. What do you think the governments of the two countries could do to strengthen and bolster relations more? President Mubarak: Relations between Egypt and China are characterized by a large measure of a special nature and distinction based on deep historical dimensions and relations which are more than cordial and that have strengthened ties between the leaderships and peoples in both countries. These relations were strengthened with rapprochement and identical views towards several international and regional issues. There is no doubt that bilateral cooperation between the two countries has acquired a strong momentum in various fields through the exchange of visits between officials and people concerned in the two countries. On top of these were the periodical summit meetings which I hold with my brother President Zemin on all aspects of relations including the fruitful talks which we held when I visited China on April 4,1999, and when President Zemin visited Cairo on April 17, 2000,and his visit to Alexandria in the summer of the same year. As you know, President Zemin has directed an invitation to me to visit China before the end of this year. Preparations are taking place to agree on a date for the visit. This shows that we are keen on deepening ad strengthening relations with friendly China. Cooperation will also be Expanded between Egypt and China As regards the role which could be played by the governments of the two countries to strengthen relations it is a major role. In the field of trade and economic relations between the two governments in a joint effort to increase the flow of trade between the two countries and to deal with an imbalance in the balance of payments through making use of the diversity in products which is needed by either party, and produced by the other party. Negotiations continue between the two governments to agree to permit the entry of Egyptian citrus, fruits which enjoy a high reputation in the Chinese market, and in order to attract more Chinese investments to Egypt following the successful experiment of the Chinese participation in the free economic zone project north west of the Gulf of Suez and in order to intensify visits by delegations from both sides to get acquainted with available opportunities of investments and to provide transport lines and air and maritime freight and other measures to deepen and strengthen trade and investment relations. In addition to this, the two governments are seriously working to activate cooperation in the social field through the Social Development Fund, and in the agricultural field to activate the project of the Egyptian Chinese friendship garden for youth at Ismailia and to exchange experience in the fields of fish wealth and food production and processing, activate tourism promotion with China including Egypt on the list of countries visited by Chinese citizens. In the field of scientific and technological cooperation, through the exchange of visits by researchers from both sides and through new joint programmes for scientific cooperation in various fields including remote sensing, space technology. And in the cultural field, there will be an exchange of seminars and Syno-Egyptian cultural meetings with the aim of deepening mutual understanding between the two peoples. In short, the two governments have a lot ahead to do to develop relations between them more and more. Peace Process falters Q :Mr. President: Ten years have passed since the peace process in the Middle East began in 1991. This process at present faces an unprecedented setback at a time when violent and bloody clashes have taken place over the past nine months between the Palestinians and Israelis. The international community is making strenuous efforts to stop violence and save the peace process. For the same goal, Egypt and other Arab countries are carrying out a process of coordination. The European Union is making an active and effective effort. the United States has intensified mediation efforts. There is the Mitchell report and there appears to be commitment at present to the ceasefire which was agreed upon through American mediation. Acts of violence are abating. what is your view as how to restore peace and the possibility of reviving the peace process on all tracks? what are the real causes which represent a grave obstacle in the way of realising peace by the two parties? what should be done to assist the two sides to get out of this dilemma? what are your expectations on the future of peace in the Middle East? President Mubarak: The peace process in the Middle East has passed through several stages since the Madrid conference in 1991 which adopted the land-for-peace principle which is considered the cornerstone of the settlement of the Middle East problem in addition to Security Council resolutions 242, 338 and 425. Since the Madrid conference, the peace process passed through sharp turns with the succession of Israeli governments. In spite of the hope which the peace process inspired at the beginning to the Palestinian leadership and people in setting up their independent state, events taking place in occupied Palestinian territories have shown a big deterioration beginning with the visit made by(current Israeli prime Minister) Sharon to Haram Al sharif on September 28, 2000, which caused the eruption of the Palestinian Intifada as a manifestation of complete rejection of dealing lightly with Islamic sanctities and to demand the return of Palestinian sovereignty. In spite of the intensive efforts exerted by all parties, through which we sought to quietness conditions and put the peace process back on its natural track, these efforts did not produce tangible results so far, for a number of considerations which I wish to clarify. First: The policy of siege and closure adopted by the Israeli government against the Palestinians. These measures increase the feelings of frustration ad despair which lead to committing acts of terrorism and violence. Second: Israel’s rejection of resuming peace negotiations and its refusal to carry out what had been agreed upon in written agreements at Oslo, Wye Plantation and Sharm AL Sheikh I in 1999. Israel also refuses to enter into final status negotiations to agree on the percentage of land, the return of refugees and other issues such as security, safe passage etc Third: Israel makes it a condition that there should be complete halt of acts of violence by the Palestinians before entering into political negotiations or expressing a political attitude. Mitchell report includes balanced commitments I wish in this regard to point out that the Fact-Finding Commission report on the September 28 Haram Al Sharif events(Mitchell’s report) included a balanced set of commitments which make it incumbent on the two sides to stop violence and impose on Israel an obligation to freeze its settlement policy until final status talks ended. This set of obligations came in agreement, at the same time, with the substance of the Egyptian- Jordanian initiative which made us, in Egypt and in the Arab world, to support it as a basis for an attempt to quite conditions and to give a push in the direction of carrying them out at once and without delay. It was natural, of course, to seek a point at which to begin. We proposed that the beginning should be to stop violence by the two sides to be followed by withdrawal of Israeli forces to their positions before September 28, 2000. President Arafat exerted extraordinary efforts until he was able to reduce the level of violence to the present level. To be fair, President Arafat cannot control violence 100 per cent because there are areas which are not subject to full Palestinian control ( areas B and C). Therefore, it is necessary to admit that President Arafat has controlled the situation in territories under Palestinian Authority as much as he could and in a manner which permit moving to the next stages to carry out the Mitchell report. Without this, we shall continue to move in a vicious circle which can be broken only by an escalation of acts of violence and consequent deterioriration in the situation in future. Efforts are under way to reactivate Peace Process In order to achieve this purpose, all international forces intensified their activities in the past period. The United States, the European Union and Russia increased their efforts to push the two sides in the direction of continuing to reduce violence and to urge Israel to begin to carry out the Mitchell report. We proposed in this regard setting up an international observers force to resolve claims of the Palestinian and Israeli sides about ceasefire violations. But Israel strongly rejected an observers force. It insists on retaining the authority to take the decision that violence has reached the lowest level. This cannot be accepted by the Arab street-man. A decision in this respect should be based on common appreciation by all parties, and particularly the American party which can evaluate the situation through the presence of security officials on the ground. In order to get out of this dilemma, I received during the past few days the American Secretary of State, the Russian peace envoy in the Middle East, Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and President Arafat. We are exerting utmost effort to break this vicious circle and return the peace process to its track at the earliest possible opportunity. We, of course, rely on the friendly Chinese attitude not only towards Arab countries but also towards overall peace in the Middle East. Egypt’s modernization Programme is underway President Mubarak then dealt with efforts to modernize Egypt saying that the main goal in the present century shall remain to realize prosperity and welfare for the people of Egypt and to modernize economy and industry to keep pace with the needs of the age and to increase exports, attract more foreign investments and provide a proper climate for investment and to offer a number of major projects to invest our abilities and our economic and human wealth at Toshka, north west of the Suez canal and east Uwainat which increase job opportunities for our youth and graduates of universities and institutes. At the same time we should enter the technological sphere with force and particularly in fields of the technology of information and communications which have become the axis of modern life in the age of globalisation. The President referred to the signing of the partnership agreement with the European Union with the aim of opening European markets before Egyptian products and Europe’s participation in modernizing Egyptian industry. We deepened our African role in economic relations by joining the Comesa and at the same time we look forward to setting up a common Arab market ``which continues to be a dream for us and for all Arab countries in order to realize economic integration among us.`` The President said that Egypt supported, with all its weight, china’s joining the World Trade Organization ``because we believe that China represents a distinguished addition to the efforts of developing countries in the organization.`` Egypt is an Important country Q: Mr. President: Egypt is an important country not in the Arab area alone but also in the entire area of the Middle East. You,Mr. President, is a statesman who has his big influence in the area. You have exerted a big effort to push the peace process forward over long years. You continue to try, with various means, to realize peace. The past few days witnessed your efforts on this course. Can you explain the latest developments in the area and in Occupied Palestinian territories? President Mubarak: I shall speak with you frankly. it is evident that with Sharon, there is no solution. He is a man who knows only killing, launching strikes and war. The strange phenomenon also which has become evident in Israel is that they do not carry out what had been agreed upon and do not honor commitments they make whereas Jews in the past, as we know them, used to respect their commitments and carry out what they agree upon. Now, the situation is completely different. It seems that there is no solution with Sharon. His principle is to use force. His nature does not accept peace. To be more frank, I do not see any hope with Sharon and his group which includes extremists. I shall give you an example. He has a minister who said on the day following assuming his portfolio that he would re-occupy Sinai and strike the High Dam. The question which imposes itself after this is: Is this government, which includes such people, a government of peace?. My reply to these statements was that I told them in Israel: Forget completely what took place in the 1967 war. This will not be repeated. If you choose war, you have to know that the loss will be great for all, including Israel. people’s will pay the price. Once again Say that these personalities who make threats of war, killing and launching strikes are unbalanced and talking with them is futile. At the beginning of the meeting, Xinhua Chief Tian Congming expressed thanks to President Mubarak for giving him this opportunity to make this interview and to exchange views on Egyptian -Chinese relations. Tian said that since his arrival in Cairo, he has received every attention from Minister of Information Safwat Al Sherif and Mena Board Chairman and Editor-Chief Mahfouz Al Ansari. Tian said: I can say that the three of us have become close friends. I have signed with Mr. Ansari an agreement of cooperation between Xinhu and Middle East News Agency (MENA) Addressing President Mubarak, Tian said: I pledge before you Mr. President, that we shall work together, Xinhua and Mena, to bolster ties of cooperation between our two agencies and acquaint our peoples with the civilisations and dimensions of development and spheres of cooperation between the two countries. President Mubarak replied: This is a good and extremely important thing. Tian said he had learned that President Mubarak will visit China before the end of the year. We welcome this important visit. I believe that the Chinese ambassador will convey to you an official invitation from President Jiang Zemin, he said. President Mubarak replied: I welcome the invitation."Inshallah" (by God’s will) the visit to China will take place. I have many dear friends in china. My first visit to China was in 1976. The second was in 1980. I was Vice President at the time. I was the last to meet the departed Chinese president Mao Tse Tung. I visited China several times after I was elected President. Xinhua Chief told President Mubarak: Mr. President: you are a close and old friend of the Chinese people. Your coming visit will take place with the advent of the new century. It is an extremely important visit and augurs well for the future of relations between our two countries. At this point, President Mubarak instructed that a visit to China before the end of this year be included in his agenda. The Xinhua Chief remarked that China will witness important events this year: President Mubarak’s visit and the summit of countries overlooking the pacific including the United States and Canada. President Mubarak expressed sincere congratulations for choosing china to host the 2008 Olympics. "I was very happy that China was chosen. China is a big friend." Xinhua Chief told President Mubarak: Please permit me to convey to you the feelings of the Chinese as regards your coming visit to China. We in China, government and people, look to your visit as an important event at the beginning of the new century. President Mubarak spoke about Egypt’s relations with china and the Chinese people. The President said: Our relations are strong and deep. I have strong personal relations with all the leaders of china, with President Zemin and with the Chinese Prime Minister. Citing a symbol of Egyptian Chinese close relations, President Mubarak referred to the Cairo International Convention Center and expressed great admiration of it, which is a symbol of friendship between Egypt and China. At the end of the meeting, Xinhua chief once again expressed thanks to President Mubarak who have given him the opportunity of the meeting which was attended by Prime Minister Dr. Atef Ebeid and Minister of Information Safwat Al Sherif. |
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