Mubarak in US for talks

US: Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak arrived in the United States on Saturday, the Egyptian embassy said, for a trip that is scheduled to include his first White House meeting with President Barack Obama.

Arriving at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, the Egyptian leader is not expected to have any public engagements until Monday, when he will meet with several administration officials.

An Egyptian official told AFP that Mubarak was scheduled to meet Monday with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, National Security Advisor James Jones and Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair.

He is also to meet with representatives from eight American Jewish groups, including the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, J Street and the Anti-Defamation League for an hour-long, off-the-record meeting.

Tuesday, Mubarak will meet Obama at the White House. Egypt’s official MENA news agency reported that their discussions would focus on “the Palestinian question, ways of relaunching the peace process and issues linked to regional security and the consequences of the nuclear issue on the Gulf and the Middle East.”

Israel and the Palestinians relaunched peace talks at a US-hosted conference in November 2007 but the Palestinians suspended the negotiations during Israel’s three-week war on the Hamas movement in Gaza at the turn of the year.

Washington, Sunday, AFP