Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa met with Mohamed ElBaradei, former director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)–and would-be presidential candidate–on Monday. It was ElBaradei’s first meeting with a public figure since his return to Egypt from Vienna, Austria after completing his term as IAEA chief.
Although the media turned out in force to cover ElBaradei’s activities, the two men declined to give press statements following the meeting, which took place at Moussa’s office and lasted for more than one hour. Moussa returned to his office immediately after escorting ElBaradei to his car, while the latter agreed only to pose for pictures without offering comment.
In subsequent statements, however, Moussa said he had discussed the "internal political situation" and "means of future improvements" with ElBaradei. "We also discussed the nuclear file in the Middle East," he added.
On the possibility of making use of ElBaradei’s expertise for Egypt’s budding nuclear program, Moussa said: "This is quite possible, as we want to assure the world that we will use our nuclear energy for peaceful purposes only and within the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty."
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
