Mubarak's prospective visit to Italy tops bilateral talks agenda

Egypt and Italy started on Monday their third round of political consultations at the level of Assistant Foreign Ministers.

The two-day consultations covered an array of issues, including arrangements for President Hosni Mubarak's imminent visit to Rome and his prospective talks with Italian officials.

"The consultations were co-chaired by Assistant Foreign Minister for European Affairs Mahdi Fathallah for the Egyptians and visiting Ambassador Umberto Vantani for the Italians," Egyptian Ambassador in Rome Nehad Abdel Latif said on Monday.

The aspects of Egyptian-Italian relations were tackled, he said, notably in boosting trade, joint investment, cultural and scientific cooperation.

"The political consultations between the two countries are an effective mechanism to follow up regional and international issues, spearheaded by the Middle East peace process," Abdel Latif said.

"The two sides tackled the peace developments on the eve of the Israeli Prime Ministerial election, including Egypt's pro-peace efforts and the EU political role in the peace process so that Europe's role would not be confined to financing the process," Ambassador Abdel Latif added.

"The Italian side appreciated the Egyptian role and that of President Mubarak in buttressing peace and security in the Middle East and Mediterranean regions," he said.

"Egypt and Italy adopted the idea of setting up the Mediterranean forum before issuing the Barcelona Declaration and starting up its process," he added.

The two sides have also gone over expanding the membership of the United Nations Security Council, disarmament and combat of terrorism and organized crime.

The agreement signed recently between Egypt and the EU was brought up on the table of discussions between Egyptian and Italian-related issues. Also, the officials of the two countries discussed the Eritrea-Ethiopia latest developments after their reconciliation, and the Iraq problem.