Talks between President Mubarak, Jordan King Abdullah focus on regional developments

Egyptian-Jordanian summit deals with Palestine, Iraq, Lebanon, Arab summit, bilateral relations

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and King Abdullah II of Jordan focused during their summit in the Egyptian tourist city of Sharm el-Sheikh on three main issues, namely the Palestinian and Lebanese developments, the current Lebanese impasse and bilateral relations, said Presidential spokesman Suleiman Awwad.

As for the Palestinian issue, Awwad said the two leaders highlighted the need to continue Egyptian-Jordanian efforts to reach a solution to the crisis.

Egyptian-Jordanian efforts are on to lift the siege off the Palestinian people and to halt Israeli practices in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the spokesman added.

The presidential spokesman said the Annapolis conference in the United States had only announced the launch of the Palestinian-Israeli negotiations to bring about a peace agreement that would allow the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

"Such negotiations are in a position that makes us not optimistic about the fulfillment of the U.S. administration's promise to reach a peace accord between the Palestinian and Israeli sides before the end of 2008," he said.

Mubarak and the Jordanian monarch stressed the importance of consolidating regional and international efforts to restore hope for pushing ahead the negotiations to reach a peace agreement leading to an independent Palestinian state.

On the Lebanese political impasse, Awwad said Mubarak and King Abdullah highlighted the necessity of bringing an end to the current situation in Lebanon, re-stressing their support for an Arab initiative in this regard.

Meanwhile, Egypt's natural gas exports to Jordan, the registration and pricing of Jordanian medicines in Egypt and the issue of the Egyptian labor in Jordan figured high in Mubarak-Abdullah summit, Awwad noted.

"Egypt and Jordan had reached an agreement on exporting Egyptian natural gas to Jordan late last year," he said, referring to a summit held between Mubarak and Abdullah at Ras al-Teen Palace in Alexandria in August 2007.

On Egyptian-Jordanian relations, Awwad said the summit reflects the deeply-rooted relations between the two countries and the joint desire of the leaders to continue talks and enhance cooperation to be a model for Arab cooperation.