PRESIDENT Hosni Mubarak and visiting Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Tuesday called for a peaceful settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on the basis of the two-state solution. The two leaders spoke during a joint press conference following talks in Sharm El-Sheikh that covered bilateral cooperation and examined ways to promote Middle East peace and cooperation in the Mediterranean region within the framework of the increasingly challenged Union for the Mediterranean launched in July last year in Paris. Berlusconi said the world must move towards applying the two-state solution, to allow for "the creation of a Palestinian state" that he suggested would give Israel "security". Mubarak, for his part, insisted that until a final settlement is reached, Israel needed to make life easier for Palestinians living under occupation. He said Palestinians must unite "if they wished to take an advanced position" while negotiating with Israel for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. During the visit, Mubarak and Berlusconi oversaw the signing of 22 bilateral agreements between Egypt and Italy. The cooperation agreements cover energy, transport, culture and agriculture.
