US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice played up Monday the issue of democracy in the Middle East in a high-profile speech here during her first official visit to Egypt since she took office in January.

Egyptian analysts, however, said their government would rather see the US top diplomat's visit focusing on the peacemaking efforts on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, especially a planned Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and part of the West Bank, a move considered vital to restart the long-stalled peace process.

"When she (Rice) talked, she talked hard about democracy," said Tarek Azziz, a Cairo-based expert on Arab issues.

"But the Egyptian government wishes she focus on the Middle East peace process where Egypt is playing a key positive role," said Azziz, adding "they do have different agendas."

US ON DEMOCRACY

Addressing some 700 intellectuals, writers and journalists at the elite American University in Cairo, Rice said the United States will pay more attention to the promotion of democracy in the Middle East.

"For 60 years, my country, the United States, pursued stability at the expense of democracy in the region, here in the Middle East and we achieved neither," said Rice.

"Now we are taking a different course," she claimed.

Rice urged the Egyptian government led by President Hosni Mubarak to ensure that the first direct multi-candidate presidential elections slated for September will be "free and fair."

"They (the Egyptian officials) must respect the stands of free elections," she said.

Egypt has promised to move toward genuine democracy for which it has embraced a new package of reforms in the past few months, but it warns against any hasty moves or reform imposed from the outside.

In February, President Mubarak proposed to change the constitution to allow more than one candidate to stand in the presidential elections, replacing an old referendum-based president selection system with direct presidential polls.

Under the old system, People's Assembly, the lower house of parliament, chose a sole candidate and then the only nominee was put to a referendum.

The Egyptian parliament has since ironed out the details of an constitutional amendment which was sanctioned by the majority of Egyptian voters in a referendum on May 25.

Efforts are currently underway to prepare a new presidential election law in accordance with the constitutional amendment to lay down the legal framework for the elections.

EGYPT ON GAZA PULLOUT

Rice's visit to Egypt is the fourth leg of a regional tour which has already taken her to the West Bank, Israel and Jordan and will take her to Saudi Arabia later Monday before she flies to Brussels to co-host an international conference on Iraq with EU officials.

The visits demonstrated Washington's policy priorities in the region which include peace-making between the Palestinians and Israelis, pushing for reform in the Middle East and stabilizing Iraq.

As Rice lectured about democracy in Cairo, President Mubarak, who met with her earlier on Monday in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, stayed behind to receive Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Simon Peres to discuss Israel's planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

Israel plans to pull out forces and Jewish settlers from all the 21 settlements in the Gaza Strip and four smaller ones in the northern West Bank in mid-August.

Egypt, the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel, has long been a key mediator in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

It has a role to play in ensuring a peaceful Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip as it exerts considerable influence on Palestinian militants and securing the Egypt-Gaza border after the pullout.

The Gaza pullout is seen as a key step toward formal peace talks between the Palestinians and Israelis, which would lead to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state side by side with a secure Israel as is envisaged in the internationally-backed roadmap peace plan.

Source: Xinhua