LATER this month President Hosni Mubarak is scheduled to visit Italy for talks on the promotion of bilateral relations between the countries and the enhancement of wider Mediterranean cooperation with an eye on accommodating the developmental concerns of the southern Mediterranean. The prospects of a settlement to Middle East political crises, especially the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories and the impact thereof on promoting stability and sustainable development around the Mediterranean basin, are also expected to figure high on Mubarak's agenda in Rome. This week in Cairo, upon receiving the president of the Commission for Foreign Affairs of the Italian senate, Lamberto Dini, Mubarak underlined the need for a more consolidated engagement on the part of the European Union to promote the cause of regional stability and the interests of all countries surrounding the Mediterranean. According to press statements made by Dini following his talks with Mubarak which came at the tail end of other meetings, including one with Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa, the Italian senator promised the dedicated engagement of his country to serve the purposes of peace and development in the Middle East and around the Mediterranean. A press statement issued by the office of Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit underlined "future strategic cooperation" between Cairo and Rome over matters related to regional political stability and economic development. Meanwhile, this week President Mubarak received the visiting president of the Swiss confederation Pascal Couchepin and Turkish President Abdullah Gul. During his talks with Couchepin and Gul, Mubarak called for regional and international support for a fair and prompt settlement of regional problems, especially with regards to the Palestinian cause. Mubarak examined chances of closer economic cooperation between Egypt and Switzerland and Turkey during his talks with Couchepin and Gul. Accompanying Gul was a large delegation of businessmen examining options for trade and investments with partners in Egypt. According to presidential spokesman Suleiman Awwad, Mubarak also reviewed with his visiting dignitaries developments of regional files, especially the situation in Lebanon, with an eye on the Arab effort to contain the current political crisis that has left the presidency seat in Beirut vacant for close to three months, and the ups and downs of relations between Iran and the West over Tehran's management of and transparency over its nuclear programme. In press statements accorded at the presidential headquarters in Heliopolis, Awwad also said that the president called for consistent coordination of regional and international efforts aiming to stabilise the situation in Iraq. "What is of crucial importance for us now is to end the bloodshed that Iraq has witnessed [for the past few years] and to maintain the integrity and territorial unity of this country," Mubarak said in an interview accorded to a Swiss daily. Meanwhile, Mubarak warned, in the same press interview, that all disagreements between Tehran and the West need to be resolved through strictly peaceful means to avoid further destabilisation of an already tense region especially in view of the impact that Middle East peace and stability have over international peace and security. "Resorting to force [in handling the Iran issue] could take the entire Gulf region and actually the whole Middle East and even the world towards very serious and grave consequences," Mubarak stressed. In press statements made earlier this week, President Mubarak stressed the need for a prompt political commitment of all concerned parties to end regional tension. Mubarak particularly stressed the need for all concerned players to move quickly to end the current presidential vacuum in Lebanon and warned of what he qualified as "disturbing consequences" for Lebanese and regional stability should the political crisis over the choice of a head of state in Lebanon continues to defy Arab efforts to reach a reconciliatory settlement.
