Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak met Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi in Cairo Thursday to discuss the Middle East peace process, Iraq and a range of other regional issues, the official MENA news agency reported. The two leaders discussed "developments in the situation in the Middle East, particularly the Palestinian issue in light of the Sharm El Sheikh summit," said MENA. Egypt hosted a summit on February 8 at the Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheikh, which ended with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas declaring an end to hostilities. "The discussions touched on the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories and how to maintain the momentum achieved" during the summit, presidential spokesman Suleiman Awad told reporters. MENA said Mubarak and Qadhafi also discussed the situation in Iraq and Sudan's troubled western region of Darfur, where conflict between the government and local rebels has left tens of thousands dead. They "agreed on the need to support efforts by the African Union to resolve the crisis in Darfur within an African framework," said Awad, who added that they were against "internationalisation of the situation or crisis." They also reviewed conditions in the Arab world in the aftermath of the assassination Monday of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri. After the one-on-one talks, delegations from both sides joined the meeting. Qadhafi, who arrived earlier Thursday on a three-day visit, was scheduled to hold further talks Friday with Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif on boosting bilateral ties between Tripoli and Cairo.
