The international conference on the reconstruction of Gaza is going to kick off tomorrow in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. Ambassador Hossam Zaki, the official spokesman of the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said yesterday that President Hosni Mubarak would open the conference, which will be attended by 45 foreign ministers as well as secretaries general and directors of regional and international organizations and funds. The conference is also due to be attended by some European leaders, such as the French President Nicolas Sarkozy and the Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Egypt's Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit welcomed yesterday the Palestinian Ambassador to Cairo Nabil Amr to discuss some issues, starting with the reconstruction agenda. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is due to arrive in Egypt tomorrow to take part in the conference. This is her first visit to the region since she took up her new job. Clinton will be joined in Sharm el-Sheikh by the new Middle East envoy George Mitchell. New US aid to the Gaza Strip will be announced. Meanwhile, Syrian diplomatic sources said the foundations have been laid for a reconciliation between Cairo and Damascus before the Arab Summit in Doha. The sources told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the Arabs have recently intensified their efforts for an Arab reconciliation. The sources also said they were optimistic in light of the recent positive declarations between Aboul Gheit and his Syrian counterpart Walid Muallem and given Muallem's participation in the reconstruction conference in Sharm el-Sheikh. The sources also said that Muallem would arrive in Cairo today to take part in the meeting among Arab foreign ministers in the capital and in the conference in Sharm el-Sheikh.
