Mubarak in Rome to meet Italian President

The Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will embark on a visit to Italy today during which he will confer with Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi to discuss the latest developments in the Middle East region and bilateral relations.

Mubarak will also meet with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi who will host a luncheon in honor of Mubarak and his accompanying delegation.

Italian Ambassador in Cairo Mario Sica said Mubarak's visit to Italy comes after telephone calls held between the two countries' Presidents.

He said the visit is a working one, with Italy taking special interest in it, as the country is the current President of the G-8.

In statements to MENA on Monday, Sica explained that Egyptian-Italian talks would deal with the Middle East situation, issue of mutual interest on the regional and international arenas and bilateral relations.

The visit acquires special importance as it comes on the heels of the G-8 summit held in Genoa which addressed a number of issues such as the Middle East conflict, the debt problem and African problems, he said, adding that the Italian side would inform Mubarak of the summit's outcome.

"Italy is worried about the situation in the Middle East region," he said.

It urged the European group to unconditionally implement the Mitchell report recommendations to realize peace through dispatching international observers to the Palestinian territories and laying down the key programmes to cease-fire and restart negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis.

He noted that this matter would take a long time, but that it was necessary that these recommendations be implemented.

Egyptian Ambassador to Italy Nehad Abdullatif added that the visit comes at a time of a dangerous situation in the Middle East.

He noted that Egypt plays a pioneering role in the region for preventing further deterioration in the situation and seeks the resumption of the Mideast peace process.

"President Mubarak will exchange viewpoints with senior Italian officials on the situation in the Middle East, especially in light of Italy's pro-peace efforts," Abdullatif said.

He highlighted the deeply rooted Egyptian-Italian ties and said that Italy appreciates the role of Mubarak in the region, he added.

Abdullatif also referred to President Mubarak's message to Berlusconi, which included the importance of revealing the G-8 summit's support to the Palestinian people.

"Italy calls for an immediate implementation of the Mitchell commission report and the dispatch of international observers for violence to be brought to an end," the ambassador said.