CAIRO: German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle renewed on Tuesday his support for more openness and respect towards the new democratic Islamic forces in Egypt. He said in statements during a visit to Cairo, where he met with the head of the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, Prime Minister Kamal Ganzoury, Foreign Minister Amr Kamal, and the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) Mohamed Morsi. He described his meeting with Morsi as “encouraging” and said that the latter stated clearly his belief in pluralism, and stressed that the FJP party is committed to maintaining peace with Israel. Westerwelle met on the second day of his visit to Egypt, with Tantawi, who emphasized his commitment to the roadmap towards democracy. His visit also came as thousands of anti-military protesters continue to demonstrate in central Cairo, demanding an end to the military junta's rule over the country. Westerwelle will next visit Israel as a part of his Middle East tour and the Palestinian territories on Wednesday. Tensions between Egypt and Israel have been tense in recent months following the ousting of President Hosni Mubarak in February 2011. The natural gas pipeline to Israel has been attacked 10 times since the uprising, and protesters attacked and raided the Israeli Embassy in Egypt in September following a cross-border raid by Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) killed at least four Egyptian soldiers. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/Ow0uw Tags: featured, FJP, Israel, Westerwelle Section: Egypt, Latest News, Palestine
