CAIRO: Catherine Ashton, the European Union's foreign policy chief, paid her second visit to Cairo in less than a month on Sunday. Ashton was accompanied by a European delegation. They met with Field Marshall Hussein Tantawi, head of Egypt's Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF). The SCAF has been in charge of the country's administration since the resignation of former president Hosni Mubarak on February 11. Ashton vowed to support Egypt's economy during the transitional phase and discussed local and regional developments. She expressed the EU's readiness to cooperate with international partners to support Egypt economically and in its transition to democracy. Ashton also held talks with Prime Minister Essam Sharaf and the Secretary General of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, where she discussed the calls to enforce a no-fly zone over Libya. Ashton met with the Leader of the National Assembly for Change, Mohammed ElBaradei, as well. On the same day, Prime Minister Sharaf met Spanish Foreign Minister Trinidad Jimenez and discussed boosting bilateral relations. Jimenez later met with her Egyptian counterpart, Nabil El Arabi, and discussed assistance from both Spain and the European Union to Egypt. Jimenez said during a joint press conference that Spain is keen on improving its relations with Egypt and her visit was aimed at promoting Spanish and European relations with Egypt. She added that her talks in Egypt discussed boosting joint investments and that both support the current changes in Egypt and Tunisia. She stressed the EU is keen to continue its economic cooperation with Egypt within the framework of the neighborhood policy, adding that the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development can offer aid to Egypt. She expressed her country`s readiness to send experts to help Egyptians in their experiment with transition to democracy and holding free elections. For his part, the Egyptian Foreign Minister said European states have not set conditions for supporting Egypt's economy, according to the state news agency MENA. BM
