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Short Takes:
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak met on Sunday in Cairo with the chairman of the national committee of the Chinese political consultation conference, Lee Hwan, and discussed regional and international issues of mutual concern. Following the meeting, the Chinese official stressed that viewpoints were identical in several important issues. He expressed his conviction that a "bright future awaits Chinese-Egyptian relations." Go

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has asserted his commitment to sincerely strengthening the role played by the Arab League (AL) and to ensuring the necessary conditions to achieve inter-Arab reconciliation to maintain the Arab states' dignity. Go

Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa left Cairo yesterday, heading to Nairobi to chair the Egyptian delegation at the two-day meetings of the COMESA (Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa) summit, which will begin its works tomorrow in the Kenyan capital. Go

Palestinian President Yasser Arafat revealed attempts to convene a regional five-fold meeting for the parties concerned with the peace process. This came in Arafat's answer to reporters' questions after his return from Cairo to Gaza City after his talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to discuss pushing forward the peace process. Arafat did not specify the countries that will participate in the summit. Answering a question regarding the start of an Israeli settling today in Deir Kedis in the West Bank, Arafat expressed his sorrow that Israeli is not stopping the settlement construction, which his happening in more than one place. Go

The Saudi airline decided to establish links between the Saudi cities of Jeddah and Riyadh, and Alexandria, Egypt at the beginning of June with trips from Jeddah on Wednesday and Friday and trips from Riyadh on Saturday and Tuesday. Go

Morocco was elected Thursday chairman of the African Insurance Organization at the organization's 26th annual conference held here. The meeting which also decided to hold its upcoming conference in Abuja (Nigeria) accepted the membership of 30 African insurance companies, including 10 Moroccan companies. Go

Morocco and Poland signed here on Thursday an agreement on cooperation in sea transports. The agreement defines the legal framework for cooperation between Moroccan and Polish ship owners for a mutually-profitable use of the potentials offered by sea traffic between the two countries. Go

The European commission has granted Moroccan development associations an assistance worth four million Ecus to support their actions. Go

Morocco and the Netherlands initialed a draft convention on the transfer of prisoners, so that the two countries' nationals serve their prison sentence in their home country. Go

Uruguayan vice-president and speaker of the Senate, Hugo Fernandez Faingold, is expected in Morocco this May 23-26. Morocco and Uruguay will sign a series of cooperation agreements during the visit, a statement of the Moroccan prime minister's office says. The Uruguayan official's visit to Morocco is part of a north African tour that led him to Tunisia to consolidate cooperation ties between his country and the region. Go

King Abdullah of Jordan on Sunday concluded his visit to the US. His visit had been scheduled to include meetings with the Arab ambassadors accredited at the UN and a meeting with heads of Jewish organizations. Go

Iranian Defense Minister Lt. Gen. Ali Shamkhani held talks on Sunday with his Lebanese counterpart, Ghazi Zeiter, dealing with bilateral relations and defense cooperation between the two countries. The two sides signed several agreements to cooperate between the two countries. Go

Syrian President Hafez al-Assad met on Sunday in Damascus with former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Talks dealt with conditions and developments in the Middle East. Go

The al-Souk (market) area in Makadishu on Saturday and Sunday witnessed vast acts of protests during which gunfire was heard following attempts made by the Somalis to restore the money that had already paid to travel to Australia by sea. Go

The British daily "The Sunday Times" said the British government hopes to resume natural relations with Libya as soon as possible. The paper added in its Sunday edition that the British Foreign office said British officials had recently met with Libyan officials. Go

Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad Bin Khaleifa al-Thani has received a message from Chad's President Idriss Deby concerning bilateral relations between the two countries and several issues in the international arena. Gulf News Agency said that Qatari Crown Prince Sheikh Jasem Bin Hamad al-Thani received the message during his meeting with Chad's Foreign Minister Mahamat Saleh Annadif in Doha on Sunday. Go

The Kuwaiti daily al-Qabas said in its Sunday issue that Col. Bashar al-Assad, son of Syrian President Hafez al-Assad, will visit Kuwait at the end of May in the course of a tour which will also include the United Arab Emirates. Go

A telephone call was made on Sunday between the Emir of Bahrain, Sheikh Hamad Bin Issa al-Khaleifa, and Iranian President Muhammad Khatami. Gulf News Agency reported that during the telephone conversation views were exchanged on several issues of concern to the two countries, especially means of promoting current relations and bilateral cooperation in the service of the interests of the peoples of Iran and Bahrain in various fields. Go

The Israeli daily Maariv reported on Sunday that the political program of the government of newly-elected Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak calls for resuming negotiations with Damascus on the ground that the volume of the Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights, which Israel occupied in 1967, is to be linked to the nature of peace and security arrangements that Israel will get from Syria. Go

Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmad al-Sabah on Sunday received a message from Turkish President Suleiman Demirel. Kuwaiti radio said the message pertains to developing and promoting bilateral relations between the two countries. Go

The Turkish daily al-Broub on Sunday quoted Turkish officials as saying that the "key to peace in the Middle East region might be Lebanon." The paper added that the Turkish officials feel that achieving a progress in Lebanon may be " conducive to several positive developments regarding Syria." Go