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Egypt Postpones Second Euro-Med Business Meeting "Indefinitely"
Egypt's Union of Chambers of Commerce (UCC) said on Saturday that it has decided to put off " indefinitely" the second conference of the Euro-Mediterranean (Euro-Med) chambers of commerce, scheduled to be held in Cairo on January 22-23.
The decision was made as UCC insisted that Israel must not participate in the meeting because of its continuing brutalities against Palestinians, the state-run Middle East News Agency reported.
UCC said at a news conference that its opposition to Israel's participation stems from its firm stance "on not dealing with any Israeli governmental or non-governmental organizations until the Jewish state ends its occupation of Arab lands and complies with U. N. Security Council resolutions."
The commercial institution stressed that there has never been any exchange of trade delegations with Israel over the past years, adding that this stance will not affect high-level cooperation with European chambers of commerce.
UCC President Khaled Abu Ismail said on Monday that his union did not invite Israel to the meeting to protest its continuing aggression against the Palestinians, adding that UCC has informed the chambers of commerce of the EU and the Arab Mediterranean countries of its decision.
"The Europeans have expressed understanding to our decision," Ismail said.
The 15 EU members and 12 southern and eastern Mediterranean countries kicked off the Euro-Med partnership in Barcelona, Spain, in 1995. They hold a chambers of commerce meeting every two years. The last meeting was held in Italy.
Since bloody clashes erupted on September 28 between Israeli troops and Palestinians, more than 360 people, mostly Palestinians, have been killed and thousands more injured.
Egypt, alongside other Arab countries and the world community, condemned Israel's excessive use of force against the Palestinians.
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