Mubarak, Zapatero hold press conference

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero announced here Wednesday their agreement on intensifying joint efforts to unify Palestinian ranks and push for the full implementation of the internationally-backed Roadmap plan for Middle East peace.

At a joint press conference after the end of their talks here earlier in the day, the two leaders stressed the need that an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza should be in line with the roadmap and called for the establishment of a Palestinian state as soon as possible.

The two leaders underlined the need to restore stability, security and sovereignty to Iraq and to fully implement UN Security Council resolution 1546, particularly its political and economic parts and a section connected with the complete withdrawal of foreign troops from Iraq.

Mubarak and his host renewed their countries' commitment to offering all support needed for putting into effect the peace agreement between north and south Sudan and help Sudan deal more effectively with the situation in Darfur.

They agreed on backing international efforts to fight terror and violence and enhance dialogue among civilizations, especially cooperation and understanding among the peoples of the Mediterranean.

Mubarak invited the Spanish premier to visit Egypt and Zapatero promised to do so at the earliest possible time.

At the start of the press conference, the Spanish leader expressed his happiness at Mubarak's visit to Spain and their first meeting together.

He voiced hope that the two countries would be able to further their already good relations, particularly in the economic and investment fields.

He spoke about Spain's contribution to infrastructure and health projects in Egypt and about the huge Spanish investments there.

Switching gear to politics, he said that his talks with Mubarak focused on the situation in the Middle East and Iraq, their concerns over the shaky conditions there and in other places in the region in addition to their wish to see peace prevail in the area.

As far as the Middle East issue is concerned, he said that they agreed on the necessity of supporting the Palestinian Authority and propelling the peace march.

He said that he also agreed with Mubarak on the need to assist Iraq restore its sovereignty and enjoy good ties with its neighbours.

"Talks between them also tackled the political and democratic process in Iraq," he said.

Speaking to reporters at his joint press conference with Zapatero, Mubarak termed their talks as constructive saying that they covered all regional and international issues of mutual interest.

He said that they discussed the current situation in the Mideast and agreed on joining hands to unite Palestinians at this particularly difficult and critical time in their history.

Stressing the need that Israel's withdrawal from Gaza should be part of the Roadmap peace plan, he called for moving ahead with steps to establish, in the nearest possible time in the future, an independent Palestinian state.

The Egyptian leader said that they also discussed means to restore stability, order and sovereignty to Iraq, the full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1546 and the outcome of Sharm El-Sheikh conference on Iraq which they hoped would help offer a new start for efforts to serve Iraq's best interests.

Turning to the Sudanese problem, he said that Egypt and Spain wished to see the conflicting sides honor their pledges to settle the problem by the end of the year, renewing their commitment to help in the implementation of the peace agreement between north and south Sudan and assist in resolving Darfur crisis.

The Egyptian president said he exchanged views with the Spanish leader on several international issues and agreed to promote cooperation at the international level to face violence and terrorism.

Ways to enhance Egyptian-Spanish relations in the various domians, especially politics, investments, tourism, oil and gas, have also come high in the discussions, Mubarak said.

Mubarak said he invited the Spanish prime minister to visit Egypt.

As for claims that late Palestinian president Yasser Arafat was an obstacle to peace, the Spanish prime minister said a political will and cooperation are needed at the current stage.

Zapatero voiced hope a sovereign Palestinian state would be established in 2005.

For his part, Mubarak said Arafat played a very important role as he was the only Palestinian figure who had the ability to convince the Palestinian people of any agreement reached.

Other parties had viewed Arafat as an obstacle to peace, Mubarak said, hoping that now such presumed obstacle did not exist any more, peace talks would resume.

Asked whether Spain could offer help for Palestinians now on their way to elections, the Spanish prime minister said his country will continue to support Palestinian unity whether via direct contacts with the Palestinian Authority or via the European Union.

Spain will also work on promoting Palestinian political dialogue in coordination with Egypt, the prime minister said, adding that his Foreign Minister Miguel Moratinos will soon embark on a tour of the Middle East.

Queried about his expectation for the date of US withdrawal from Iraq, the Egyptian president said it was premature to expect a date, especially that fighting was still raging between the US forces and Iraqis.