Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak left Cairo Thursday for Spain's Balearic Isles, where he is to attend a conference of Mediterranean states that will also be attended by Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, said AFP.
The daily press said that Mubarak will hold intensive talks Thursday with the Spanish Premier Jose Aznar on bilateral cooperation, Middle East crisis and international terrorism.
The two sides will hold a joint press conference after the talks, and the Spanish monarch Juan Carlos will honor Mubarak at a lunch banquet at the Royal palace in Madrid.
The Egyptian president’s talks with top ranking Spanish officials will focus on the Middle East and the international conflicts and issues in the wake of terrorist attacks in Washington and New York on September 11, said the Cairo-based Al Ahram newspaper.
The talks will also tackle the role Spain can play in the future. The country will hold the rotating presidency of the EU.
The conference, to be hosted by Majorca Island, is to include discussions on political, economic, and socio-economic problems that the region faces from European Union enlargement and will include a special session on the moribund Middle East peace process, added AFP.
Mubarak will address the meeting with a keynote speech, described as “very important,” by the local press – Albawaba.com
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