Putin, Mubarak Sign Declaration on Bilateral TiesRussian President Vladimir Putin ended his Friday summit with visiting Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak by signing a declaration on principles of bilateral ties and cooperation.Russia and Egypt will build their relations on the basis of mutual benefit and interest in safeguarding world peace and expanding international cooperation, said the declaration. Both countries vowed to make joint efforts in preventing any kind of international terrorism "in particular activities against the safety of civil aviation and marine shipping as well as the hostage-taking actions." The two sides also signed a long-term program for expanding trade and economic, industrial and technological cooperation. Putin said after the signing ceremony that his talks with Mubarak focused on the Middle East situation and bilateral ties and cooperation. "We spoke in detail of the problems of the Arab-Israeli settlement and of Iraq," he said, adding that "a settlement in the Middle East cannot be achieved without taking into account the interests of all countries involved." Stressing the extreme importance of Egypt's attitude toward the Middle East settlement, Putin said Egypt's great influence in the world makes Russia's cooperation with it in international affairs very effective. On bilateral relations, the president said deep-rooted Russian- Egyptian relations "have been intensifying at all levels and in all spheres" lately. Russia cherishes its friendship with Egypt, which was born back in the times of "the great son of Egypt, Gamal Abdel Nasser," Putin said. He hoped the newly signed declaration would serve as "a good basis for the development of relations between our countries." The Russian leader also said he is sure that Mubarak's visit " will be a good signal for the business world" and serve the development of economic links between the two countries. Mubarak said in return that Egyptian-Russian relations have stood the test of time and Egypt would like to further strengthen them. Mabarak also urged Russia to play bigger role in dealing with global affairs. The Egyptian President, who arrived here Thursday night for a two-day visit, also held talks with Duma Chairman Gennady Seleznyov earlier Friday. |
| People's Daily Online --- http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/ |