Bush visits Egypt at end of regional tour (1st Lead)

Middle East News

Jan 16, 2008, 11:30 GMT

Sharm el-Sheikh- US President George Bush wrapped up his eight-day regional tour with a lightning visit to Egypt Wednesday where he met President Hosny Mubarak against a backdrop of tension between both countries and strong anti-US sentiment. Relations between both countries are marred by a row over weapons smuggled into Israel through tunnels on Egypt's border in the Sinai desert. In an apparent attempt to soothe tensions, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit told al-Arabiya television Wednesday that Bush's visit is 'important.' On Tuesday, Abul-Gheit was quoted as saying by Egypt's independent newspapers that the visit was irrelevant. The statement was reportedly made at a meeting of the committee of foreign relations and national security of the ruling National Democratic Party. The two leaders, who were meeting at a hotel in the Red Sea Sharm el-Sheikh resort, were expected to focus mainly on the Middle East peace process and the weapon-smuggling issue. Tel Aviv backed by Washington is pressing the Egyptians to do more to stem weapon smuggling to Palestinian militant groups in the Gaza Strip, but Cairo says it is doing enough to secure its border with Israel. US Congress suspended last month 100 million dollars of its annual military aid to Egypt, the second largest recipient of this aid after Israel, and made its assistance conditional on more moves by Cairo to stop weapons smuggling. Washington's repeated criticism of Egypt's human rights violations and restrictions of political and press freedoms has further strained relations. Cairo perceives this as US interference in its affairs. Bush's visit, though merely a three-hour stop, has sparked a wave of protests among Egypt's opposition parties and activists. In the last few days, opposition MPs and politicians have staged protests, though limited in number, calling on the government not to receive the US leader. © 2008 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur

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