World powers hail transition of power in Egypt after resignation of President Hosni Mubarak

Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak stepped down Friday after three-decades of autocratic rule and handed power to a junta of senior military commanders, triggering an explosion of joy on the streets and a series of immediate world reactions.

News of the resignation had an immediate impact on Wall Street, where Dow Jones Industrial Average moving from an early slight loss to add 0.30 percent, while the Nasdaq index rose 0.30 percent.

ISRAEL SCARED
Israel said it hoped the transition of power in Egypt will be conducted "smoothly," a government official told AFP.

"We hope that the transition to democracy, for Egypt and for its neighbors, will be done smoothly," the official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity shortly after Mubarak stepped down after 30 years in power and handed control to the Egyptian army.
  
But the official stressed the need to preserve the 1979 so-called peace treaty between Israel and Egypt, which was signed two years before Mubarak came to power. "This treaty serves the interests of the two countries and constitutes a guarantee for the stability of the entire region," the official said.
  
He also stressed that the moment was "too important to make premature remarks" about the outcome, while adding that Israel was bound to feel some trepidation over the uncertainty created by Mubarak's departure.

BIDEN HAILS HISTORIC DAY
US Vice President Joe Biden on Friday hailed a "historic day" for the people of Egypt and said President Hosni Mubarak's departure must lead to a negotiated path towards democracy.
  
In a first US reaction to tumultuous events in Egypt, Biden warned of "delicate and fateful" days ahead and said the ouster of Mubarak was a "pivotal moment" in the Middle East.
  
Biden said the "dramatic changes" in Egypt must meet the aspirations of massive crowds in Cairo, adding that "the transition taking place must be an irreversible change and a negotiated path towards democracy."
  
The US vice president made his remarks during a previously scheduled speech at the University of Louisville, Kentucky, about an hour before President Barack Obama was due to deliver his own on-camera remarks on the situation.

  
EU: MUBARAK LISTENED TO VOICE OF PEOPLE
In Brussels, EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton said that by standing down, Mubarak had "opened the way to faster and deeper reforms".

Ashton said Mubarad had "listened to the voices of the Egyptian people" and opened the way to reform.
  
"It is important now that the dialogue is accelerated leading to a broad-based government which will respect the aspirations of, and deliver stability for, the Egyptian people," she said in a statement. "The future of Egypt rightly remains in the hands of the Egyptian people," the statement added.
  
QATAR HAILS TRANSITION OF POWER
Meanwhile, Qatar described the transition of power to the military in Egypt as "positive and important," in the first Arab reaction to the resignation of Egypt's embattled president Hosni Mubarak.
 
"The transition of power in Egypt to the Supreme Military Council is a positive and important step towards achieving the aspirations of the Egyptian people for democracy, reform, and a decent life," said a statement carried by state news agency QNA.

IRAN HAILS EGYPTIANS’ VICTORY
Iran said that Egyptians have achieved a "great victory," after it was announced that President Hosni Mubarak had stepped down.

"The conquest by the will of the great Egyptian nation over the resistance and persistence of officials who were dependent on the world powers is a great victory," foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told Iran's Arabic-language Al-Alam television.
  
"We hope that by continuing on this path, all the historical demands of Egyptians will materialize."

TURKEY CONGRATULATES
Turkey's foreign minister congratulated the Egyptian people on Friday after the toppling of Hosni Mubarak and said he hoped a new system would emerge in the wake of the veteran president's departure.
  
"Congratulations to the Egyptian people. And we hope that a system meeting the expectations of the Egyptian people will emerge," Ahmet Davutoglu, on a visit to ex-Soviet republic Georgia, wrote in English on his Twitter page. "Egypt is a strong state and the continuity of the Egyptian institutions is of crucial importance," he added.
  
In another message in Turkish, he said "the Egyptian people demonstrated what they wanted at the end of a persistent action."
  
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, already a hero of the Arab street with his frequent outbursts against Israel and passionate defence of Palestinians, had lent vocal support to the anti-regime protesters in Egypt.
  
He has called also for democratic reform across the Middle East, saying that "only advanced democracy can ensure moderation, tolerance and reconciliation."

BRITAIN: REMARKABLE DAY
British Prime Minister David Cameron said Friday that Egypt must "move towards civilian and democratic rule" after president Hosni Mubarak quit following days of mass protests.
  
Speaking after what he described as a "remarkable day", Cameron said Egypt now had a "really precious moment of opportunity to have a government that can bring the country together".
  
"We believe it must be a government that starts to put in place the building blocks of a truly open, free and democratic society," he said. "Of course what has happened today should only be the first step. Those who now run Egypt have a duty to reflect the wishes of the Egyptian people, and in particular there really must be a move to civilian and democratic rule as part of this important transition to an open, democratic and free Egypt."
  
He added that "as a friend of Egypt and the Egyptian people we stand ready to help in any way that we can".

GERMANY: HISTORIC CHANGE
German Chancellor Angela Merkel hailed Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak's resignation Friday as a "historic change" but urged the new leadership to respect the country's 1979 peace treaty with Israel.
  
"I rejoice with the people in Egypt," she said. "We are witnessing a historic change. I call on those who now bear the responsibility and will bear the responsibility to make the developments in Egypt irreversible, and that they keep the peace," she told reporters.
  
She said the military leadership now running the country must also do its part to uphold peace in the region. "We also expect the future Egyptian government to continue to keep the peace in the Middle East, in that the agreements made with Israel are respected and Israel's security is guaranteed," she said.
  
Merkel said she wished the Egyptian people "a society without corruption, censorship, arrests and torture".
  
Meanwhile in New York, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle welcomed Mubarak's resignation as "a historic moment."
  
"The chance for democratic change must be used now," Westerwelle said at the United Nations where he is holding talks.