Palestinian Ambassador to Cairo Barakat al-Farra said on Saturday that Palestine's President Mahmoud Abbas will arrive in Cairo on Monday for a three-day visit. Abbas will meet with the head of the ruling Supreme Council of Armed Forces Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, and participate in an Arab Peace Initiative Committee meeting scheduled for Monday, Farra said in a statement. He said Abbas will meet a number of religious figures, most notably Pope Shenouda III and Al-Azhar Grand Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayyeb, and he will discuss the general situation in Palestine with the European Union's Catherine Ashton, who asked to meet Abbas during his visit. He also said Abbas will hold talks with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is also scheduled to arrive in Cairo on Monday. Abbas' visit aims to launch a campaign in the Egyptian media in support of Arab efforts to obtain UN recognition of Palestinian statehood, Farra added, and Abbas will accordingly hold an interview with Egyptian TV. Translated from the Arabic Edition
