CAIRO, 11 August 2003 — Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak yesterday called for a greater UN role in efforts to rebuild Iraq.
The two Arab leaders at a meeting here discussed “the situation in Iraq and the need for the United Nations to play an effective role in rebuilding the country,” Egypt’s official MENA news agency said. A top British official said Saturday that London favored a new UN resolution endorsing the reconstruction of Iraq, and added that Washington was also beginning to see the benefits.
US President George W. Bush’s administration wants to introduce a resolution this week establishing a UN mission to oversee the US-appointed Iraqi Governing Council, the New York Times reported yesterday.
Prince Abdullah and Mubarak also discussed the “situation in the Palestinian territories in light of Israel’s stubbornness,” as well as ideas to “develop joint Arab action through the Arab League.”
Prince Abdullah arrived here from Damascus on the second leg of his four-nation tour, which will also take him to Morocco and Russia.
In Damascus, he held talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad on the Middle East peace, the Iraqi situation and ways of strengthening Arab unity. An Egyptian diplomatic source told Reuters that the crown prince and the Egyptian president expressed their concerns about troubled Israeli-Palestinian peace moves.
The two leaders said Israel’s intransigence and its construction of a fence through the West Bank blocked the implementation of the Middle East road map, the source said.
Prince Abdullah was due to hold further meetings with Mubarak later yesterday and today.
Prince Abdullah was received on arrival at Cairo airport by Mubarak, Prime Minister Atef Obaid, Defense Minister Muhammad Tantawi and other top Egyptian officials.
He is accompanied by a high-level delegation including Prince Nawaf, director of intelligence, and Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal. Egyptian media yesterday highlighted the significance of Prince Abdullah’s visit and said it would further strengthen Saudi-Egyptian relations.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher said the crown prince’s visit was in the framework of continuous consultations between the two countries on vital Arab issues. The country’s information minister, Safwat Sharif, said Prince Abdullah’s visit to Cairo happened during an important period. “It provides a good opportunity for President Mubarak and Crown Prince Abdullah to exchange views on vital issues including the ideas to develop the Arab League,” he said.
