Meeting With Vice President Muhammad Husni Mubarak of Egypt White House Statement.

President Carter and Egyptian Vice President Husni Mubarak met in the Oval Office for 50 minutes. Also attending the session on the American side were Vice President Mondale, Secretary of State Vance, Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, Assistant Secretary of State Harold Saunders, William Quandt, NSC staff member, and Robert Hunter, NSC staff member. Ambassador Ashraf Ghorbal and Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Usoma al-Baz accompanied Vice President Mubarak.

In accepting the special message that Vice President Mubarak conveyed on behalf of President Sadat, President Carter expressed his personal pleasure at being able to welcome Vice President Mubarak again to the White House. He reiterated his warm personal regard and high esteem for President Sadat and welcomed the opportunity to continue close consultations with Egyptian leaders.

President Carter and Vice President Mubarak reviewed the status of Egyptian-American cooperation in a number of fields. The President expressed great interest in Egypt's priority efforts to expand its economic and social development. Bilateral military relations were also discussed. Citing the administration's proposal for $1.5 billion in foreign military sales credits over the next 3 years, the President reaffirmed his intention to assist Egypt in meeting its legitimate defense needs. He also said that they discussed how the United States might help to meet Egypt's longer term defense needs and the desirability of regular and systematic consultations towards this end. Referring to the Middle East peace negotiations, the President stressed the administration's determination to help resolve the difficult issues that must be addressed so as to achieve a comprehensive peace.

In addition to his meeting with President Carter, Vice President Mubarak today met separately with Secretary Vance, Secretary of Defense Brown, and Ambassador Strauss. Vice President Mubarak will meet with Members of Congress before he departs for London on the evening of June 13.