President Anwar Sadat of Egypt predicted today that the U.S., Israel and Egypt would “reach agreement in the very near future” on the nature of United Nations peacekeeping forces in Sinai. Sadat made his remarks to reporters after a two-hour meeting with Israeli Labor Party chairman Shimon Peres who arrived in Alexandria today on a three-day visit to Egypt.
According to the Israel Radio correspondent in Alexandria, Sadat appeared to play down the dispute over the American-Soviet proposal to replace the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) with an expanded United Nations Truce Supervisory Organization (UNTSO) force. He also spoke without rancor of the West Bank settlements issue, saying that he disagreed with Peres on it as he had in the past with Premier Menachem Begin. But the issue will have to be resolved because there is “no alternative” to resolving it, Sadat said.
Peres is scheduled to meet with Vice President Hosni Mubarak and other ranking officials on what is his first trip to Egypt. Before departing from Ben Gurion Airport he told reporters that he would explain the Labor Party’s views of the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty to his Egyptian hosts and its hopes for the speedy normalization of relations between the two countries. Peres said that he visited Begin at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem yesterday and was asked by the Premier to report to Sadat on the state of his health and to thank the Egyptian leader for his good wishes for Begin’s speedy recovery.
BUSINESS CONTACTS WITH EGYPT
Meanwhile, Avraham Shavit, president of the Israel Manufacturers Association, returned from a three-day visit to Egypt today. The industrialist told reporters that business contacts between the two countries will be possible only after full normalization of relations is effected. He said his visit confirmed the view of many analysts, including the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, that commercial relations with Egypt will be a slow process. He said he invited a delegation of Egyptian industrialists to visit Israel and they are expected in about two months.
In another development, Egypt’s Defense Minister Kamel Hassan Ali is due in Haifa Sunday on a three-day visit to Israel as the guest of Defense Minister Ezer Weizman. He will be accompanied by his wife and son. In addition to discussions with Weizman on joint security matters, including the future of United Nations peacekeeping forces in Sinai, Hassan will visit several Israeli industries, including an electronics plant and Israel Aircraft Industries–Elta.
Gabriel Gidor, director general of IAI, said at a press conference in Paris that his staff has prepared a blueprint for possible Israeli-Egyptian cooperation but it is considered unlikely that this will be discussed during Hassan Ali’s visit. The Egyptian Defense Minister will be the guest of the Haifa municipal council. He is to visit the Maritime Museum and tour Haifa streets and scenic points on Mt. Carmel to be followed by a State dinner at the Dan Camel Hotel.
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