Thank you very much Mr. President. I am delighted to see you again. I brought with me an old friend of yours and of Egypt, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor, Benjamin Ben-Eliezer.
I came to Sharm el-Sheikh today in order to express the appreciation of the new Government in Israel towards Egypt and towards you, Mr. President, its leader, President Hosni Mubarak, a strong and brave leader who acts for his country and his people, first of all by strengthening and establishing peace. Mr. President, you already mentioned that the peace between us has been in existence for more than 30 years. It has withstood all the tests of time and I know that Egypt shares our view that this peace is a strategic asset, a cornerstone of stability and hope.
We wish to expand this peace, first and foremost with our Palestinian neighbors. We want to see Israelis and Palestinians living together with the prospect of peace, security and prosperity. We believe that these three things go hand in hand, one does not come at the expense of another, one does not come in place of another, but rather peace, security and prosperity go together.
Therefore, we wish to resume the peace talks between ourselves and the Palestinians as soon as possible and I fervently hope that they will be renewed in the coming weeks which in turn will set in motion the processes which will strengthen the economic cooperation between us and of course the activities of the Palestinian security apparatus that serve the security for both peoples.
Mr. President, we greatly appreciate Egypt's assistance in this field, which is of vital importance to us, as is your assistance in the struggle with the extremists and the terrorists who threaten both the whole region and the peace which we all desire.
I came to Egypt today in order to strengthen the relationship between the State of Israel and the largest and most important of the Arab states, but I came to Sharm el-Sheikh today also in order to strengthen the relationship between the ancient Jewish people and the great Arab nation. The Jewish people want harmonious relations with the Muslim world. The State of Israel aspires to peace with its Palestinian neighbors and with all the Arab states. We all live in this region and we are all human beings. Our forefathers wandered in the deserts just as your forefathers did, and our mothers, like your mothers, prayed on this land. Just as the roots of our past are intertwined with the roots of your past, so is our future connected to your future.
Today, unfortunately we are witnessing radical forces which threaten the stability of the Middle East. The struggle in the Middle East is not a struggle between nations, nor is it a struggle between religions. It is a struggle between moderates and extremists, between those who desire life and between those who spread violence and death. While we seek to sow, nurture and build, others seek to burn, destroy and kill. As both Israel and Egypt desire to build a future of hope and peace, it is incumbent upon us to build cooperation between us, to secure and reinforce it. I believe that it is in our power to restore the splendor of the past and the hope of tomorrow to the region. I believe that we can restore to our children the hope of a better future for Jewish and Arab children alike.
Mr. President, I want to thank you for your generous hospitality and for your friendship and Egypt's friendship throughout the years, and also during this visit. Thank you.
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