20 March 2008…

Her Excellency Suzanne Mubarak met with Austrian Foreign Minister on the sidelines of a dinner held at the Egyptian Ambassador's residence in Vienna. The Austrian Foreign Minister asked to cooperate with Egypt in the fields of women empowerment and establishing relations between women in the Middle East. The Austrian Minister referred to the Women Leaders for Peace in the Middle East meeting hosted by Austria in May 2007, proposed that Egypt could host one of its follow up meetings.

The Minister also expressed her interest in developing Siwa Oasis, and the possibility of considering it a natural reserve by UNESCO. The First Lady expressed interest in the idea and asked for a written account of the proposal.