For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
April 12, 2004
Joint Statement by President George W. Bush and President Mohamed Hosny Mubarak
Crawford, Texas
Thirty Years of American-Egyptian Relations: A Partnership for Peace and Development
For thirty years, Egypt and the United States have enjoyed a
partnership dedicated to peace, stability, prosperity, and freedom in
the Middle East.
Secretary Powell and Foreign Minister Maher plan soon to conduct a
session of our bilateral strategic dialogue in Washington, reaffirming
the determination of our two countries to strengthen our partnership.
In our meetings today, we reiterated our resolve to continue
working, along with our partners in the region, in Europe, and around
the world, to promote peace in the Middle East, maintain regional
stability, fight terrorism, and bolster the region's efforts toward
economic, political, and social development and modernization.
Our two nations have nurtured a vision of peace that is anchored by
the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty. This first peace agreement between
Israel and an Arab country has been a model for subsequent endeavors to
achieve a just, comprehensive, and lasting peace in the region.
Our two nations' unwavering commitment to this process led to the
universal acceptance of the necessity and inevitability of a negotiated
settlement. We envisage two states, Israel and Palestine, living
side-by-side in peace and security. We will continue our determined
efforts in the forthcoming months to achieve these objectives. We
believe that an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and parts of the West Bank
can, under the right conditions, and if it is within the context of the
implementation of the Roadmap and President Bush's vision, be a
significant step forward. It is our firm conviction that resolving the
Arab Israeli conflict will be a major contribution to stability and
progress in the region, removing a major source of tension.
Egypt and the United States also recognize the need for political
and economic reform in the region. The United States has followed the
steps taken by Egypt over the past few years, as well as the ongoing
debate on reform in different sectors of Egyptian society. This
ongoing debate, including the call for reform produced at the meeting
of Arab civil society held at the Library of Alexandria last March, as
well as the speech given by President Mubarak in the opening of that
meeting reaffirming his commitment for a continuing reform process,
provide for a constructive foundation for further efforts toward
democracy and development.
Egyptian-American cooperation will also continue to encompass many
other areas. Iraq faces a critical moment in its history, with wide
implications across the region. We are committed to helping the Iraqi
people realize their aspirations to build a sovereign, prosperous,
stable, unified, and peaceful modern nation.
We intend to maintain our close cooperation in the fight against
terrorism. Our two nations are among those who have suffered the most
from the scourge and have no intention to relent in this fight. The
United States expresses its appreciation for Egypt's invaluable help
and its readiness to continue its contributions towards combating and
eliminating terrorism.
Since the 1970s, the United States has been Egypt's leading partner
in economic, political, and social reform efforts, providing highly
appreciated material and moral support. The two nations look forward
to strengthening their partnership in this respect for the benefit of
the people of both countries and region as a whole.
The Egyptian-American partnership has promoted peace and stability,
while supporting positive change in the Middle East, for thirty years.
We are confident that it is equally capable of meeting the challenges
of the next thirty years and beyond. We look forward to an intensified
dialogue about Egyptian-American cooperation and partnership in the
21st century.
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