Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmad Nazif has welcomed the visit of King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, to Egypt. He described meetings between King Abdullah and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak as “always producing benefits for the people of their countries”. “The level of coordination and understanding between the two countries is reflected in the King's wish to detail to the Egyptian president talks he held during his tour of Europe,” Nazif said. “Coordination between them is continuous, and addresses regional issues, developments in Darfur and Sudan in general, developments in Somalia and Iraq, the situation in Palestine and other important issues.” The Egyptian prime minister said the Kingdom and Egypt would be looking to use their regional and international weight to avert conflicts, describing them as “constantly working to overcome differences in the region for the sake of Islamic and Arab unity”. King Abdullah will meet Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad Thursday to try to ease tensions in Lebanon. The King will hold talks with Assad in Damascus before heading to Beirut where he will meet Prime Minister Saad Al-Hariri, President Michel Suleiman and other Lebanese political leaders, Saudi officials said. “The King appears keen to deal with concerns that recent tensions could escalate if the (UN) court takes some decisive action in the Hariri murder case,” Khalid Al-Dakhil, a prominent Saudi writer was quoted as saying by a news agency. “The visit also aims at ascertaining the regional understandings Syria has with Saudis, Turks, the French .... to keep Lebanon stable and stay away from Lebanese internal political wranglings.”
