Ben Ali starts visit to Cairo

Tunisian President Zein al-Abidin Ben Ali arrived today in Cairo on a two-day official visit, where he was received by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak at Cairo airport.

The two presidents will discuss the cooperation relations between the two sides.

This visit is considered the second of its sort since the Tunisian president's assumption of power in November, 1987.

The Tunisian president is accompanied by a delegation including the foreign minister, and ministers of industry, of agriculture and of international cooperation, as well as the spokesman of the Tunisian presidency.

Tunisian sources in Cairo said the two presidents will discuss the current status of the Arab Maghreb Union which Egypt asked to join as an observer, the progress toward a peaceful settlement in the Middle East and the future of the European - Mediterranean partnership in the framework of the Barcelona, track in which Egypt and Tunisia have participated since its beginning in 1995.