Egypt and the US have agreed to intensify their efforts to "help" the Palestinians and Israelis fully implement the Mitchell report recommendations, said Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher on Saturday at the end of a three-day visit to Washington.
Maher said that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak would discuss the matter with US Secretary of State Colin Powell, who will arrive in Egypt Wednesday.
He said their talks would cover the basic steps to implement the Mitchell report's recommendations, according to Al Ahram daily.
Maher added that his US counterpart had assured him that both sides had agreed to implement the recommendations “without reservations.”
Meanwhile, Maher told reporters that he suggested putting a third party in place to monitor the US-brokered ceasefire, signed last week, noting that the US administration had said it would discuss the idea during Powell’s visit to the region.
The minister, meanwhile, praised Egyptian-US relations, saying that both sides had to enhance them in various fields.
According to the Middle East Newsline (MENL), the Bush administration covered Cairo's intermediate-range missile cooperation with North Korea during the talks with Maher.
Administration officials said the White House and State Department urged Maher to end the cooperation with North Korea on the development of intermediate-range missiles, the report said Sunday.
This included Egypt's plans to purchase 50 No-Dong missile engines. The No-Dong has a range of up to 1,300 kilometers.
The administration also appealed to Maher for Egypt to sign the Missile Technology Control Regime.
The MTCR limits the sale and development of missiles that are more than 300 kilometers in range.
Maher, the officials said, reiterated Egypt's position that it had ended cooperation with North Korea.
The foreign minister did not commit Egypt to signing the MTCR, said MENL.
US officials said Egyptian-North Korean ties had become an important issue for the Bush administration.
They said the issue would be raised during talks later this year with Egyptian Defense Minister Hussein Tantawi, the report added - Albawaba.com
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