Thursday, November 05, 2009

  EDITORIALS   

Another step for boosting our relations with Nile Basin countries

The visit of Rwandan President Paul Kagame for Cairo and his talks with the senior Egyptian officials for four days comes as a step for more boost of Egyptian-Rwandan relations. Egypt is keen on this step and translates this keenness to practical steps through the visits of the Egyptian officials to these countries. These visits aim at coordination with these countries and discussing joint cooperation domains that Egypt can implement due to its experiences in different domains. These domains are such as food industries, modern irrigation and infrastructure projects.

The political relations between Egypt and the ten Nile Basin countries are good and need nothing except more economic cooperation, commercial exchange and opening the way before investments. The economic ties are stronger and more preserver for good relations between any two countries as the matter here is related to the nations' interests and everyday life, and can not be easily ended. On the contrary, the political relations are changeable if they are the only ties between the two parties as the countries' interests will be preferred at the end.

The businessmen should help the Egyptian government for boosting the political and economic relations between Egypt and the Nile Basin countries within the framework of protecting national security. This matter can be implemented by directing part of the businessmen's investment to the Nile Basin countries, including Rwanda. Rwanda is still in need for giant investments in all domains and the Egyptian companies can reap from them great profits. This matter needs for a calculated risk and not to be hesitated.

Thus, we can open new markets for export and employment. Meanwhile, we can implement our national goal which is to protect our national security.

Al Ahram

Settlement obstacle before stability

Everyone agrees that settlement is a hard obstacle before implementing peace in the Middle East. Meanwhile, we confirm that it is a very hard obstacle before implementing security and stability in the Middle East as a whole. This is because the peace process was based on a main principle which is "Land for Peace". Moreover, settlement wastes land and make it impossible to implement peace.

Thus, we imagine that it is necessary for the administration of US President Barack Obama to resume pressures on Israel for freezing settlement conclusively and not pending it temporarily. If the Israeli government under Benjamin Netanyahu has a problem concerning what they call the natural growth of settlement, it is Israel's problem and it has to solve it. The successive Israeli governments since the establishment of Israel on Palestine's lands were responsible for the problem of settlement. Besides, Israel was, and still is, encouraging the Jewish extremist settlers to stay in settlements which it establishes on the Arab occupied territories.

Consequently, Netanyahu's government should solve this pure Israeli problem and not to throw the responsibility on the Palestinian and Arab party. We think that the greatest burden is also on the main sponsor of peace process in the Middle East which is the USA. To sum up, Israel should stop settlement completely and show its practical commitment to the principle of "Land for Peace" on which the peaceful operation was based if it is sincere in its effort for implementing peace.

Al Akhbar

How can USA be honest mediator?

In its attempts to reach a peaceful settlement for the Arab-Israeli conflict, the US administration under Barack Obama turned to practicing pressures on some Arab countries and the Palestinian authority for snatching more concessions.

The USA should try to practice its responsibilities as the sponsor of the peace process and to force the Israeli side to do what is required from them, on top them stopping settlement. Instead of that, the USA gave up quickly from penetrating the refusal wall which Israel establishes against stopping settlement and put instead what they called restricting settlement. It is strange that this Israeli play on words was applauded by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and considered it unprecedented penetration!!

It seems that the new US administration did not learn yet in the pre-phases of negotiations that to make peace process reach its goal, the USA should practice its responsibility as an honest mediator. When the USA plays this role, it should not press on one party for the benefit of the other.

Al Gomhouria
Cairo Press Review
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