Jordan Times
Friday, February 27, 2004
FM off to Riyadh
RIYADH (AFP) — Foreign Minister Marwan Muasher was expected in Riyadh Thursday for coordination talks with his Saudi counterpart on next week's meeting of Arab chief diplomats, a Jordanian diplomatic source said.Muasher will stay only a few hours to discuss with Prince Saud Al Faisal issues expected to be raised at the Arab League foreign ministers' meeting slated for March 3-4 in Cairo, the source told AFP, requesting anonymity.
His visit follows that of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Tuesday during which Saudi Arabia and Egypt agreed on a joint stand on “rectifying the Arab situation” that they would put to the upcoming foreign ministers' meeting, according to a statement.
Mubarak was subsequently quoted as saying that Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Syria would unveil a joint plan to reform the Arab League during the ministerial gathering at Arab League headquarters. An Arab summit is due to be held in Tunis on March 29-30.
Preparations for the Arab meetings were also raised during recent visits to Riyadh by Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh and Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Othman Ismail.
The two will come up again during a regular session of foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia and its five partners in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) here Saturday.
The six-member states of the GCC are: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman.