Cape Town - South Africa's Minister of International Relations and Cooperation has expressed the hope that United States President Barack Obama's visit to Cairo will lead to urgently needed progress in the Middle East peace process.
"This is a very positive development as relations between Arabs and Muslims with the U.S. ...the speech is an important signal for urgently needed progress in the Middle East peace process," said Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane on Thursday.
The challenge now is to restart direct peace talks in the Middle East, she said stressing that there was a need to involve regional parties in seeking solutions to the Middle East conflict.
She was speaking after the meeting with her United Arab Emirates (UAE) counterpart, Minister of Foreign Affairs Shaikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan during his visit in Cape Town.
Sharing the same sentiments, said Minister Shaikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan said the speech could revolutionize the relationship between the US and Muslims in the Arab world.
He said the government of UAE expresses its hope that President Obama's important speech will indeed lead to a new era of reconciliation between the Arab and Muslim world and Israel.
"We share the hope of President Obama that the American effort will signal a new era that will bring an end to the conflict and a pan-Arab recognition of Israel as the Jewish state living in security and peace in the Middle East," he said.
President Barack Obama took his formidable rhetorical skills to Cairo yesterday, where he cautioned his audience - the whole Muslim world, in a sense - that "no single speech can eradicate years of mistrust."
President Barack Obama has said the "cycle of suspicion and discord" between the United States and the Muslim world must end.
In a keynote speech in Cairo, Mr Obama called for a "new beginning" in ties.
He admitted there had been "years of distrust" and said both sides needed to make a "sustained effort... to respect one another and seek common ground".
Mr Obama said the US bond with Israel was unbreakable but described the Palestinians' plight as "intolerable".
The president made a number of references to the Koran and called on all faiths to live together in peace.
"Be conscious of God and speak always the truth," he cited the Koran. Mr Obama said Islam had "always been a part of America's story".
He added that much had been made of the fact an African-American named Barack Hussein Obama had become US president, but he insisted his personal story was "not so unique".
"The dream of opportunity for all people has not come true for everyone in America, but its promise exists for all who come to our shores - that includes nearly seven million American Muslims." He received a standing ovation at the end of his speech at Cairo University.
The Mr Obama's speech was translated and broadcast live around the world, and is easily found online.
