Peres, Abbas off to Italy for 'mini-Davos' conference

Participants include also Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa, Italian President Giorgio Napolitano, US VP Dick Cheney and others.

By GREER FAY CASHMAN
peres abbas 224.88 (photo credit: )
peres abbas 224.88
(photo credit: )
President Shimon Peres left for Italy on Thursday afternoon to participate in an economic forum, which, according to the Boston Globe, has been billed as a mini-Davos. Participants include Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa, Italian President Giorgio Napolitano, US Vice President Dick Cheney, European Commission President Jose Manual Borrosso, high ranking government figures from several countries and senior executives of major multinational business corporations, who will gather at the luxury Villa de'Este resort overlooking Lake Como. The annual forum is sponsored by Ambrosetti, a Milan-based management consulting group. Cheney, who will arrive in Italy after delivering an American aid package to Georgia, will address the forum on "Intelligence on the World, Europe and Italy." Peres will have private meetings with Cheney and Borrosso. Before leaving for Italy, Peres arranged to meet with Abbas on Thursday night to discuss ways of advancing the peace process, specifically in the areas of economic security and communications as well as in other spheres. The two are scheduled to open the Friday session, which will be totally devoted to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and Israel's relations with the Arab world. Two months ago, Peres and Moussa participated at an international conference in Petra, where they traded barbs - not for the first time. The two, who are regulars at the annual Davos conference, had clashed there in previous years. The Ambrosetti Forum will conclude on Sunday.