PARIS: French President Nicolas Sarkozy hosted his Egyptian counterpart Hosni Mubarak on Wednesday for a working lunch focused on the financial crisis and the new Union for the Mediterranean, his office said.
Prior to the meeting, Sarkozy s office said the talks would focus chiefly on the effects of the financial crisis and the preparation of the upcoming international meetings devoted to it.
As the current holder of the European Union presidency, Sarkozy is rallying support for an overhaul of the global financial system, ahead of a meeting of the G20 group of current and emerging powers in Washington on Nov. 15.
The two leaders will also discuss bilateral and regional issues including the situation in Darfur, the Middle East and Iran, as well as the new union of Mediterranean-rim nations.
Launched in July, the forum brings together the 27 members of the EU with states from north Africa, the Balkans and the Middle East to foster cooperation in one of the world s most volatile regions.
The union is the successor to the EU s 13-year-old Barcelona Process, which was undermined by disputes between Israel and its Arab neighbours.
The new forum is to meet in Marseille at the level of foreign ministers on Nov. 3 and 4 to decide on the makeup and powers of a secretariat to oversee its projects. -AFP
