AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands: The Dutch Deputy Foreign Minister for North Africa and Middle-Eastern affairs, Herman Corles, said Holland and the EU are ready to provide Egypt with help and technical experience to support the success of the democratic transition in Egypt. He made these statements during a meeting with the Egyptian youth delegation and political party activists last Thursday. Corles said Egypt is considered a neighboring country and both Holland and Egypt have many fields to cooperate in. He added Holland has a lot of developmental projects in Egypt in the water and infrastructure sectors and there is a strong desire to enhance cooperation fields during the next period to support technical and political experiences in Egypt. When the youth asked about retrieving Egyptian money, Corles said the issue is subject to many laws and procedures that cannot be made in just a few days. Corles said information should be provided about Egyptian figures so we can freeze their assets in Europe because laws in Europe cannot be done at random. Herman also said the EU is aware of the importance of the money for Egypt's recovery of economy. It is communicating with many international organizations specialized in fraud and corruption detection in order to help Egypt. He also said many countries are ready to place in Egypt's debts in remission as long as there is democratic development and political stability in Egypt. On the other hand, many Israelis and Jews protested outside the Dutch parliament in Hague against the Palestinian President Abou Mazen for meeting the Dutch Prime Minister Peter Balkenende and Minister of Foreign Affairs. The protestors demanded the division of the Palestinian state and to release the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. It should be noted the Palestinian President's visit to Holland aims to study peace routes in the region, the bilateral relations between both countries, and the EU's vision to support peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Arabic
