Deputy Prime Minister on Middle East visit

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prof. Guido de Marco left Malta this afternoon for official talks in Cairo, Damascus and Beirut.

During Prof. de Marco's visit to the Middle East, Agreements on the Avoidance of Double Taxation will be signed with the Governments of Egypt, Syria and Lebanon. Separate Agreements will also be signed with the Government of Egypt on Investment Guarantees and Cultural Cooperation. The meetings in the Middle East will also be taking place two weeks prior to the Med Forum meeting that will be hosted and chaired by Malta and that will bring together the Foreign Ministers of eleven Mediterranean States, as well as the Euro-Med Meeting that will take place in Stuttgart, on 15^th and 16^th April 1999.

In Cairo, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs is tomorrow expected to call on H.E. President Hosni Mubarak. Prof. de Marco will also have official talks with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Amre Moussa, following which bilateral agreements will be signed. While in Cairo, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs will also have meetings with the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, Dr. Ahmed Esmat Abdel Meguid, as well as with the Minister for Economy, H.E. Dr. Youssef Ghali.

In Damascus, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs is expected to meet with the Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Farouk Al-Shaara, as well as with other leading authorities in Syria.

Before returning to Malta, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs will travel to Beirut where he will call on the President of Lebanon, H.E. Emile Lahoud. Separate meetings will also be held with the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lebanon, H.E. Selim Al Hoss, as well as with the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Trade and Economy.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, who is accompanied by Ambassador Alfred A. Zarb, Head of Bilateral Relations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Gaetan Naudi, Ambassador-Designate to Egypt and by Mr. Joseph Tonna, Private Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister, will return to Malta on Thursday.