PRESIDENT Hosni Mubarak today addresses a joint session of members of both houses of the Egyptian Parliament, officials said yesterday. President Mubarak's keynote speech, which will be broad-cast alive by Egyptian TV and radio stations, will deal with domestic,regional and international issues, the officials said.He will also inaugurate the three-storey build-ing of the Shura Council (the Upper House of the Egyptian Parliament), which was renovated after a fire destroyed it last year, they added.The conference rooms and halls of sprawling building, a grand Italianate structure with some neo-Islamic features in the interior, were fully restored after the 2008 fire, Shura Council Chairman Safwat el-Sherif said.The Council, which plays a key role in Egypt's parliamentary and political life, is made up of 264 members, of whom 176 are directly elected and 88 appointed by President Mubarak. Half of the Council's members are renewed every three years.A Government-owned company has restored the building to its original shape, el-Sherif said, adding that Shura Council includes a new hall named after President Mubarak.He said that the Council's main conference rooms are ready to receive the members with the beginning of the new parliamentary season, which starts today."The building has preserved its historic and monumental value after the restoration works that made use of the latest technological and engineer-ing techniques," el-Sherif said.It has been provided with modern fire-fighting techniques, he added.
