22/01/2001 (Agence Europe) - The Association of European Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Eurochambres, had decided to postpone its annual ArchiMedes Conference that was to be held in Cairo, on 22 and 23 January. The postponement of the meeting is based on contradictory information supplied by the Egyptian authorities about the possibility for all delegations (including Israel) to take part. The decision was taken in agreement with the European Commission which did not manage to obtain a clear response from the Egyptian authorities, and can be explained by the wish to guarantee that all countries in the Barcelona Process (EU 15 and the 12 other Mediterranean rim countries) might effectively take part at the ArchiMedes initiative, supported by the MEDA programme. ArchiMedes aims to develop a true Euro-Mediterranean network of chambers of commerce and industry.