CAIRO, 11 June 2004 — Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher yesterday reiterated Cairo’s position that all reform in the Middle East should come from within but said the West could assist the process. “Egypt’s position is the same as it was before the summit: We are in favor of reform and have started the process,” he said after the close of the Group of Eight summit, where Washington unveiled its initiative for political and economic change in the region.
“But reform should come from inside the countries and every country should run the process according to its own particular situation,” Maher added. “At the same time Egypt stresses that it would be ready to work with those who wish to help in this regard.”
He said the government would study the declaration of the G-8 Summit on reform in the region and “express our opinion at the appropriate time.”
World leaders at the G-8 Summit on the US east coast Wednesday approved a “Partnership for Progress and a Common Future” aimed at spreading reforms in the Middle East and North Africa.
The initiative, a watered-down version of an earlier highly controversial proposal from Washington, recognizes that reform cannot be imposed from outside.
But it has been given a lukewarm welcome by many countries in the region.
Meanwhile, a Turkish court has ordered the release of a cargo of Ukrainian military equipment headed for Egypt that was seized here last week, the Anatolia news agency reported in Istanbul.
Turkish Foreign Trade Minister Kursat Tuzmen said when the single radio-controlled missile, missile heads and launching ramps were seized on June 3 they were being “trafficked” illegally.
Ukrainian authorities however said the shipment was legal under a 1994 contract with Egypt.
The court determined that the shipment was legal, and police released five people who were picked up in the affair.
