Mashallah. Good to see PM Gilani meeting with Great President Bush of USA. The man and country that has done so much to support Pakistan. Long may the friendship of these two great nations continue. Ameen.
http://thenews.jang.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=14714
Gilani to meet Bush in Egypt this weekend
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani is all set for his first encounter with US President George W Bush in Egypt where the two leaders plan to arrive this weekend to attend the World Economic Forum (WEF) on the Middle East, diplomatic sources told The News on Wednesday.
They will hold a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Middle East WEF to be held from May 18-20 at the famed Egyptian resort of Sharm El Sheikh, sources said. Notably, this will be the first top-level political contact between Pakistan and the US after the formation of the new government in Islamabad.
Awami National Party (ANP) President Asfandyar Wali Khan, who through consensus within the elected government has emerged as Pakistan’s point man for implementation of the post-election anti-terror strategy, would also be travelling with the prime minister. Asfandyar Wali had gone to the US earlier this month on an unannounced visit to discuss the new government’s anti-terror policy with the top Bush officials.
According to informed sources, the date and time of the Gilani-Bush meeting was currently being firmed up through diplomatic channels. A number of other important bilateral meetings with the world leaders, including Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, are also on the cards, sources in the Foreign Office told this correspondent.
A ‘chance meeting’ with Israeli President, Shimon Peres, who has confirmed his participation, cannot be ruled out given the nature of the occasion. At the opening session of the WEF meeting, the host Egyptian president would be joined by President Bush, who will fly to Egypt after important visits to Saudi Arabia and Israel.
Prime Minister Gilani is scheduled to leave for Egypt on Saturday on what will be his first foreign visit after assuming office in March. Foreign Minister Shah Mehmud Qureshi and Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir, due to their preoccupation with the upcoming talks with their Indian counterparts in Islamabad on May 20-21, will not be able to accompany the prime minister.
However, the Foreign Office will be represented by Additional Foreign Secretary Zamir Akram, who has recently been nominated as Pakistan’s new ambassador to China. During his two-day visit, the prime minister will be accompanied by some cabinet members, parliamentarians and senior officials.
Interestingly, the names of Ishaq Dar and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, two of the nine PML-N federal ministers who tendered resignation to the prime minister on Tuesday, are on the list of the prime ministerial delegation.
The high profile event at Sharm El Sheikh would bring together over 1,500 participants from 55 countries, including key regional and global leaders, ministers and leading business figures. Prime Minister Salam Fayyad of the Palestinian National Authority, King Abdullah of Jordan, prime ministers of Qatar and Kuwait and President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan would be among more than a dozen heads of state or government who will attend the meeting.
Tony Blair, the Middle East Quartet envoy for the UN, IAEA Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei and President of the World Bank will be also take part in the meeting. The theme of the meeting is 'Learning from the Future