Solutions in Sirte

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PRESIDENT Hosni Mubarak joined his North African counterparts, Algeria's Abdul-Aziz Bouteflika and Libya's Muammar Gaddafi for a summit in the Libyan seaside settlement of Sirte, the hometown of the Libyan leader. The three presidents urged Lebanese leaders to try working together more closely, in order to ward off the evils of civil war. They also expressed concern regarding the rapidly deteriorating security situation in Iraq.

President Mubarak briefed his two counterparts about his meeting with United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. The meeting had taken place recently in the Upper Egyptian city of Luxor. The three leaders also discussed the tense situation in the Palestinian territories which have been witnessing confrontations between members of Fatah and the Hamas-led government. The strained political situation in the Horn of Africa, the Ethiopian invasion of Somalia and ongoing political and military stalemate in the war-torn westernmost Sudanese province of Darfur also came under scrutiny. The troubled hot-spots all constitute areas of concern for the three North African states. Rallying their sizeable economic resources, the three countries pledged to financially support the peace process in Darfur and Somalia. The three countries are also preparing to deploy peace-keeping troops in Darfur and Somalia, under the auspices of the African Union, the Arab League and the United Nations.