Couchepin travels to North Africa
President Pascal Couchepin has begun a visit to Morocco and Egypt as part of a nine-day tour aimed at boosting bilateral relations.
One of the highlights is a meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak for talks on cultural, religious and economic issues as well as science projects.
Couchepin – who is also interior minister in charge of health, science and culture – is scheduled to launch negotiations with his Egyptian counterpart for an accord on the trade in cultural goods and the restitution of stolen artefacts.
Both ministers will also present a cultural programme, Swiss Tales, to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the Cairo Opera House.
During his stay in Egypt Couchepin will meet the spiritual leader of the Coptic Orthodox Church – the largest Christian church in Egypt – Pope Shenouda, as well as Sheikh Mohammed Sayed Tantawi.
He is the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Mosque and has been described as the foremost Sunni Arab authority.
The visit to Morocco, which is officially due to begin on Monday, focuses on forging closer economic and cultural relations and boosting coooperation in international organisations, according to the interior ministry.
Couchepin’s visit is the first by a Swiss president to both North African states.
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.