Cairo-Madrid connect

By Nevine Khalil & Shaden Shehab
After nearly one hour of talks with Spanish Prime Minister José Maria Aznar, President Hosni Mubarak said on Tuesday that a second Middle East peace conference in Madrid, styled after the 1991 summit that kicked off the peace process, would be futile. Speaking to journalists at a joint news conference, Mubarak said that organising a Madrid II summit next October, on the 10th anniversary of the first conference, would be unnecessary. The first conference, held in the Spanish capital following the Gulf War, launched the now faltering peace process. "If the principles of Madrid I are respected, we won't need a Madrid II," said Mubarak. "It would be a waste of time because we don't need new principles."
Aznar agreed that the principles for peacemaking were already in place, noting that since "we have already arrived at the land-for-peace formula, we don't need to discuss new bases."
During their meeting, Mubarak and Aznar talked about developments in the region, the peace process, the Egypt-European Union (EU) partnership agreement and boosting bilateral cooperation. Aznar said Egypt has a "strategic and pioneering role to play in achieving stability in the region" by championing peace, and that the EU will support the Egyptian efforts, especially when Spain chairs the EU next year.
Aznar, who left Cairo for Israel later on Tuesday, called for patience concerning clarifications of the policies on the peace process by the new US administration, headed by George W Bush, and the new Israeli government led by Likud leader Ariel Sharon. "We must not close the door in anybody's face. The two new administrations will soon spell out their policies, and we should wait for that," said Aznar. Mubarak agreed, saying: "Let's not jump the gun. We'll wait and see what happens."
The Spanish prime minister argued that negotiations on the Palestinian track must result in a "permanent and stable" solution. "What was achieved so far must not be allowed to slip away," said Aznar, "especially given that significant progress was made. We are close to a final deal, we shouldn't step away from that."
The Egyptian president had met with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat a day earlier to exchange views on the future of peace negotiations after the hawkish Sharon was swept to victory as Israel's prime minister on 6 February. After meeting with Mubarak, Arafat met separately with Aznar for talks also on Monday. After discussing the bogged down peace process, Aznar spoke about the Barcelona process which seeks to promote economic and security cooperation between countries to the north and south of the Mediterranean. He said that it was premature for Barcelona to discuss the banishment of weapons of mass destruction from the Middle East, especially dismantling Israel's nuclear arsenal. "Certain conditions are needed before we address this issue, and right now we are working on creating the right environment for such a discussion."
Aznar described Egyptian-Spanish relations as "good" but said they need to be "activated further," something his government has been working towards since it came to power in Madrid last year. Aznar was accompanied on the visit by 50 businessmen, indicating Spain's interest in promoting investment in this country.
A day earlier, the Spanish prime minister and his Egyptian counterpart, Atef Ebeid, witnessed the signing of a bilateral agreement and a memorandum of understanding. The agreement was signed by Spain's International Cooperation Agency and the Commercial International Bank (CIB) to administer a 10-year $10 million loan, earmarked for funding small projects and investments by non-governmental organisations and associations. The memorandum of understanding concerns the field of tourism.
To bolster relations between the two countries, bilateral contacts will be maintained to promote cooperation in all fields. Special attention will be devoted to natural gas and oil, since 30 per cent of Spain's natural gas imports come from Egypt.
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