CAIRO: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Cairo on Tuesday for a two-day visit to Egypt and Tunisia. Clinton is the highest U.S. official to visit Egypt since the ouster of former president Hosni Mubarak last month. Clinton arrived in Cairo on Tuesday and held talks with head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces Field Marshall Hussein Tantawi, Prime Minister Essam Sharaf, Foreign Minister Nabil el-Arabi, and two main presidential candidates, Secretary General of the Arab League Amr Moussa and former IAEA director Mohamed El Baradei, in addition to a number of representatives of human rights organizations and activists, including prominent opposition figure and human rights activist Gameela Ismail. Clinton toured Tahrir Square, the center of the massive protests that led to Mubarak's ouster. Although accompanied by several security officials, Clinton managed to shake hands with people in the square congratulated them for their revolution, voicing her country's support to Egyptians and their choices. “Today, Egypt is rising. Egypt, the mother of the world, is now giving birth to democracy,” Clinton said. She also expressed her happiness to be at the place that witnessed the human spirit and great desire for freedom, democracy and human rights. Clinton said Egyptians should be proud of themselves for writing their own history in this fascinating manner, and expressed her appreciation of the Revolution which has astonished the whole world. Before visiting Tahrir Square, Clinton met Prime Minister Sharaf and Foreign Minister el-Arabi, to whom she announced the U.S. Administration's willingness to support Egypt through $90 million aid and discussed cooperation between the two countries, emphasizing the crucial role of Egypt in the region. Clinton stressed that Washington supports the democratic transition in Egypt and confirmed that assistance to Egypt, which she described as a strategic partner in the region, will continue. Clinton said the U.S. is considering ways to provide Egypt with short and medium range enterprises to help the cause of democracy through establishing a flourishing economy and is open to providing Egypt with letters of credit and encouraging direct foreign investments. Sharaf and el-Arabi called on the U.S. to continue its economic support for Egypt and to provide employment opportunities for youth. El-Arabi said he is satisfied with the willingness and support offered by Clinton in regard to economic issues. Local news websites reported that the Coordinative Committee for the People of the Egyptian Revolution, one of various groups represented at the meeting, condemned Clinton's visit on account of U.S. policies toward Egypt in the past decades. Gameela Ismail, a prominent opposition figure and civil rights activist, told Clinton the Egyptian people deserved an apology for the actions of the U.S. Administration, and the State Department in particular, in the early days of the revolution. The Coalition of the Youth of the Revolution rejected an invitation to meet Clinton because of “the U.S. administration's weak position at the start of the revolution due to its close relationship with the ousted president.” Clinton stated on the first day of the revolution that the Egyptian regime was “stable,” a statement considered by many demonstrators as clear support for the regime of former president Hosni Mubarak. BM
