The Italian ambassador to Egypt said that Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf's participation in celebrations honoring Italy's National Festival is evidence that Italy stands with Egypt during its current critical stage. Ambassador Claudio Pacifico denied that relations between Egypt and Italy will not be affected by the trial of ousted leader Hosni Mubarak, despite the cordial relations between Mubarak and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Pacifico confirmed that relations between the two countries are based on the friendship between to peoples and not on a particular person. The ambassador said his country is looking forward to supporting Egypt in the economic, social and political arenas. Pacifico said Italy has no bank accounts, assets or frozen money related to Mubarak or his family. The celebration was attended by a number of Egyptian ministers, including Minister of Finance Samir Radwan, Minister of Interior Mansour el-Essawy, and Minister of Culture Emad Abu Ghazy. The figured of Mubarak's ousted regime, who used to attend the annual celebration, were absent this year
