RIYADH, 1 October 2003 — Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd and Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, held talks here yesterday with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on the situation in Iraq and Palestine.
“King Fahd and President Mubarak examined the latest developments at the Arab, Islamic and international levels, particularly the situation of the Palestinians and recent developments in Iraq,” the Saudi Press Agency said.
The meeting was attended by senior officials from both countries, including Prince Abdullah and Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation.
Mubarak later met separately with Crown Prince Abdullah and discussed the latest developments in Iraq and Palestine. They also explored ways of strengthening bilateral ties.
Before the Riyadh meeting, Egypt’s Ambassador Mohammad Rafik Khalil said the two sides were expected to discuss “the freezing of the road map and Israel’s threat to banish” Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
The two sides “are expected to stress the need for the Iraqis to determine their own fate so that Iraq can recover its role on the Arab and world stage,” the ambassador said.
Mubarak arrived in the Kingdom from Abu Dhabi, where the situation in US-occupied Iraq as well as the Palestinian territories also topped the agenda of the talks. The two sides discussed “efforts under way to establish security and stability in Iraq” and ways to boost the Middle East peace process, the UAE’s official WAM news agency said.
Meanwhile, US Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs William Burns has hailed Prince Abdullah’s efforts to fight terrorism and achieve greater political participation in the Middle East.
In a speech before the US-Arab Economic Forum in Detroit, Michigan, he said: “Saudi Arabia and Egypt remain critically important partners.”
