Mubarak's trip to Poland is another step towards rapprochement and cooperation between Egypt and Eastern Europe On a virgin trip by a president since diplomatic relations were launched between Egypt and Poland in 1927, President Hosni Mubarak spent three days in Warsaw discussing the situation in the Middle East and bilateral relations. Focus points included the Palestinian problem, Iraq, Lebanon, Darfur and Iran's nuclear programme, as well as boosting economic relations and cooperation. Polish President Lech Kaczynski hoped the visit would positively affect bilateral relations in the near future. After meeting with Mubarak on Tuesday, Kaczynski told a joint news conference that the two states share a special political relation, but that economic ties need a boost to match the size of both populations. Issues of bilateral interest include energy security and economic cooperation. Mubarak met with Prime Minister Donald Tusk yesterday to further discuss bilateral economic collaboration. The talks were attended by the ministers of foreign affairs, trade and industry, as well as international cooperation on the Egyptian side, and Poland's minister of economy and deputy foreign minister. Before leaving for Warsaw, Mubarak told the Middle East News Agency (MENA) that he hoped the talks would introduce a fresh impetus in relations and cooperation with Poland in all spheres. The focus of bilateral economic cooperation is mainly in the fields of energy, tourism and investment. Talks also aimed to increase the size of trade between the two sides, which last year came at around $200 million. At the same time, Egyptian tourist sights seem to attract more Polish tourists every year; more than 330,000 Poles visited Egypt last year -- a 60 per cent increase from the previous years. Presidential spokesman Suleiman Awad said that while the visit aims to strongly promote bilateral relations, it also paves the way for more political coordination on Middle East issues. "The Palestinian problem is at top of these issues," Awad said at the beginning of the visit on Monday. At Tuesday's news conference, Mubarak told reporters that discussions dealt with the dangerous state of affairs in the Gaza Strip, and the need to calm the situation in a way which would lift the Israeli blockade on the Strip and reopen the border. He added that discussions also dealt with the deteriorating situation in Lebanon, urging that all interested parties inside and outside Lebanon should exert every effort to elect a president there. Mubarak's trip to Poland gains special importance since it comes as part of Egypt's strategy of boosting ties with its neighbours to the North, especially Eastern Europe. It comes after a trip to Egypt last year by Romanian President Traian Basescu, and ahead of visits by Czech President Vaclav Klaus, Ukrainian President Victor Yushchenko and Bulgaria's Georgi Parvanov in the coming few months. Kaczynski, of course, also received an invitation to visit Egypt. The trip is also significant because Poland is a noticeably growing economic power which has become an active and influential member of the EU, as well as the NATO and European Parliament. It is also the sixth economic power in Europe after joining the EU in 2004. Its current status could allow Warsaw to boost the EU role in the peace process, perhaps giving Poland the chance to play a role in pushing the process forward. Already, Polish peacekeeping forces are participating in the forces in Lebanon and Iraq, and soon more will be sent to Darfur as part of the EU's peacekeeping force there.
