Egypt not to stop calls on Israel to join NPT

CAIRO, June 22 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said Tuesday his country will not stop its calls on Israel to join the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and submit its facilities to international observation.

Following a meeting here with Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Yukiya Amano, Abul Gheit said his country will press ahead with its calls for submitting all Israeli nuclear facilities to international observation, state- run MENA news agency reported.

"I can not imagine any one in Egypt would say that we stop calls for submitting Israeli facilities to the observation of international society represented in the IAEA," he said.

Meanwhile, Abul Gheit said his meeting with Amano also touched upon ways the international watchdog could help Egypt to carry out its peaceful nuclear program.

"We agreed with Amano on the steps through which the agency could help Egypt to rehabilitate its nuclear plant in Inchass," 60 km east of Cairo, he said.

For his part, Amano said the IAEA is ready to cooperate with Egypt on its peaceful nuclear energy project, unveiling a proposal by the agency to send experts to assess the project and offer consultation.

"We have also discussed the outcome of the Nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference and preparations for the 2012 conference on the establishment of a Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons," Abul Gheit added.

Amano held similar talks with Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif, Electricity Minister Hassan Younis and members of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs.

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