Readying for Development

President Hosni Mubarak told a preparatory meeting for the first World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) that he was committed to transforming Egypt into a modern, IT- savvy society. "We are building bridges to cross the digital divide", asserted Mubarak on Tuesday, in a speech delivered by Minister of Information and Communication Ahmed Nazif.

Mubarak travelled to Geneva on Monday to attend the WSIS which is attended by 6,000 delegates from 169 countries, where he outlined Egypt's vision for creating an information society. He also took the opportunity to promote the Africa Telecom conference which will be hosted by Egypt next May. In Geneva, home to the latest Middle East peace initiative, Mubarak also held meetings with several of the 66 heads of state and governments attending the summit. He is also expected to meet with UN Secretary- General Kofi Annan, whose organisation is sponsoring the summit, and Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom.

The three-day WSIS, attended by officials as well as representatives from industry and advocacy groups, is designed to set new rules for the Internet and bridge the knowledge gap and digital divide between rich and poor countries. While the US, most of Western Europe and nearly all of Asia decided not to send top leaders to the meeting which officially began yesterday, African and other developing countries took a keen interest.

Mubarak's speech yesterday was guided by an Arab-African strategic paper prepared during a June meeting between Arab and African ministers. The paper recommends the development of an IT infrastructure, developing human resources, creating e-government, compiling a database for industry and facilitating scientific research.

Mubarak also outlined Egypt's vision of creating an information society based on seven pillars, which include digital "readiness" and providing communication facilities for all sectors of society; e-education and a campaign to eradicate technological illiteracy; improving the efficiency of the technology business sector; developing e- government and providing new services in government offices; using IT for improving the health sector; employing IT to preserve cultural and natural heritage; and finally, developing the IT sector to become an export industry.

The two-phase summit -- one in Geneva and another in Tunisia in November 2005 -- will work on a plan of action and declaration of principles on the information society. The challenge is to establish a global framework to enable all countries to enjoy the benefits of the information age.

Shortly before boarding his plane to Geneva, Mubarak held extensive talks with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to discuss ways of strengthening ties between developing countries. Lula's visit to Egypt is the first by a Brazilian head of state in over 100 years -- when Emperor Peter travelled to Lebanon, Syria, Palestine and Egypt in 1876.

Mubarak and Lula agreed that the Arab and Latin American blocs have great potential in economic and political cooperation, especially in light of the Brazilian president's invitation for a summit next year. Lula, who was on a five-stop regional tour, is planning an Arab-Latin American summit bringing together the leaders of both regions, paving the way to constructive dialogue and increasing trade among these countries. "Neither bloc has realised its potential yet," noted Lula at the end of his talks with Mubarak.

The Arab-Latin American dialogue featured in Lula's discussions in Syria, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates and Libya. In a joint news conference, Mubarak said that he and Lula agreed on holding a dialogue between Arab and Latin American leaders and that preparations can be made to "strengthen political consultations among us", Mubarak said.

Lula responded that "Brazil will exert all effort required to establish stronger political, cultural and economic relations with Egypt," adding that Mubarak's leadership in the Arab world "can contribute in a positive way to improving relations between Latin American and Arab countries". The former trade union leader believes that in the next four years these countries can achieve more than they have in the past decade.

President Lula's tour aims to boost Brazil's economic ties in the region. Before embarking on the trip Lula declared that he wanted to implement hundreds of dormant cooperation accords with Arab countries. Hence, economic cooperation was also a prominent talking point during the discussions. Lula was accompanied by a large business delegation and ministers and witnessed the creation of a joint Egyptian- Brazilian Business Council. While in Cairo, Lula also held several meetings with officials, including Prime Minister Atef Ebeid and Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa.

The volatile conditions in the region, especially on the Palestinian and Iraqi fronts, was also on the agenda during the talks between the two presidents. Lula noted that he came to Egypt "to tell President Mubarak that Brazil is prepared to exert all possible efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East".

Commenting on the Cairo-mediated dialogue between the Palestinian factions which concluded without progress in Cairo a day earlier, Mubarak told reporters that "the fact that the factions gathered and talked is a good sign". He added that, "we did not expect several groups to meet and end their differences overnight," noting that Cairo did not ask them to adhere to a one-year truce. "We asked them to mandate and support the head of the Palestinian Authority [Yasser Arafat] to enable him to cooperate with the Israeli side," revealed Mubarak. "We told them he will keep you informed; he does have his own agenda."

Mubarak was also optimistic about Syria's readiness to re-launch negotiations with Israel, adding that the US "must work on bringing the two sides to sit together". He believes that this would "ease tensions, help resolve the Palestinian issue, and lead to stability and security in the region". Peace talks between Syria and Israel collapsed nearly four years ago over the Golan Heights, seized by Israel from Syria in the 1967 War.

In his meeting with Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei on Sunday, Mubarak went into detail about making progress on the Palestinian track. Qurei, in Cairo to attend the factions' dialogue, told reporters that he discussed with Mubarak developments on the ground in the Palestinian territories. These include Israel's aggressions, the construction of the 'security' wall, settlement expansion and the siege imposed on the Palestinian people.

Qurei, too, believes that holding talks between the Palestinian factions is "an achievement in itself", but added that "a ceasefire will not come for free; in return, Israel must end all forms of aggressions against the Palestinians."