Mubarak meets with Zayed, King Fahd in Geneva

Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak on Friday in Geneva held a meeting with each of the Saudi Arabia's King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz and the United Arab Emirates UAE President Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan. The meeting was held in an undeclared visit to Switzerland and came just hours after the talks held in the White House with the participation of the foreign ministers of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan.

Mubarak met separately with each of King Fahd and Sheikh Zayed who are spending a leisure time in Switzerland and discussions dealt with "developments in the Middle East and latest conditions on the international arena." No detailed news were given about the meeting and Mubarak refused upon his arrival in Geneva earlier to comment on the meeting held between the US President George Bush with the foreign ministers of each of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan. Mubarak said he wants first to listen to the report on the White House talks.

Mubarak first met with Sheikh Zayed near Geneva and he later met with King Fahd in his private palace in Collonge-Bellerive district.

Mubarak and Zayed discussed the current conditions in the region especially the Israeli aggressions against the Palestinian people and the efforts made for resumption of the peace process. The talks were attended by the chairman of the Egyptian general intelligence Omar Suleiman.

The spokeswoman for the Swiss foreign ministry said the Egyptian President will hold "a short private visit" to Switzerland, noting that Mubarak will leave Switzerland on Saturday ( today).

On the other hand, it is presumed that Mubarak will visit on July 25 Paris where he will discuss with the French President Jacque Chirac, just one day before the talks to be held by the French president with the Jordanian King Abdullah II.

A French diplomatic source said the two meetings fall in the course of the efforts made by the French president to revive the Middle East peace process.