Friday, May 16, 2008, Jamadi-ul-Awwal 9, 1429    

Visit of paramount importance for Pak-Egypt ties, says Haridy

Interview
Dr Jassim Taqui Deputy Editor(IR)

Arab Republic of Egypt is keen to strengthen ties with Pakistan in every field and looks forward keenly to the visit of Prime Minister Sayed Yousuf Raza Gilani. The Egyptian people give Pakistan a special dignified place, stated the Ambassador of Egypt to Pakistan Mr. Hussain Haridy in an exclusive interview with Pakistan Observer.
Haridy confirmed that Mr. Gilani would lead a high level delegation that would also include Federal Ministers, Parliamentarians and businessmen, commending the leadership of the new political dispensation for giving this priority to Egypt.
The Egyptian Prime Minister Dr. Ahmed Mahmoud Nazif extended the official visit to Mr. Gilani to attend the World Economic Forum at Sherm El- Sheikh ( May 18-20) and to hold talks with him on promoting the bilateral ties. The visit would be the first ever foreign visit of the Prime Minister since he assumed power after the February 18 legislation elections.
According to Haridy, the two sides would discuss ways and means to strengthen bilateral relations in all fields and explore new avenues on how to face the challenges that face the Middle East and South Asia.
“ Egypt believes that the two nations should concentrate on economic and human resource development. Self-dependence is the best way to face the challenges of shortage of food and energy,” held Haridy. He also called for South-South Cooperation “as the best answer to face challenges rather than expect much from others.”
Answering a question on Gilani-Nazif talks, Haridy stated, “ The Prime Minister Dr. Ahmed Mahmoud Nazif is eager to hear from his Pakistani counterpart the future policies and strategies of the ruling coalition towards enhancing security in South Asia. On his part Dr. Mazof would explain Egyptian steps to push forward the peace process by working hard to calm the situation, end the state of frustration among the Palestinian people and ensuring lifting the Israeli siege on the Gaza Strip.”
Elaborating further, Haridy stated “We cannot accept the Israeli policy of starving one million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. We find that the Israeli reasons are not convincing… We don’t accept the collective punishment of the brotherly people of Palestine.”
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