Tourism Minister Avraham Sharir expressed regret Sunday at the cancellation of a scheduled visit here by his Egyptian counterpart, Fuad Sultan. No reason was given for Sultan’s cancellation, nor was a new date set for the visit.
Sharir, meanwhile, expressed some dissatisfaction that efforts to revive tourism between Israel and Egypt were not making progress. Israeli tourism to Egypt has been lagging since the massacre of seven Israeli civilians by a berserk Egyptian policeman at Ras Burka in the Sinai last October. The victims were part of a group of 27 Israelis who had gone on a Succot camping trip to Sinai.
Egypt is now expected to hand over to Washington this week its reaction to the latest proposals regarding the wording of the Taba arbitration document. Senior sources at the Foreign Ministry here indicated that there are still several obstacles remaining before that document is signed.
These obstacles include the maps which will be used by the arbitrators; the third impartial arbitrator, in addition to the Egyptian and Israeli arbitrators; and the question of financial compensation to the families of the Ras Burka victims.
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