By Xinhua
Cairo : Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and visiting Turkish President Abdullah Gul on Tuesday called for more efforts exerted to find solutions to regional issues, particularly the Lebanese crisis and the Palestinian-Israeli talks.
At a joint press conference following their talks on Tuesday, Mubarak and Gul stressed the need to reach a consensus on the Lebanese presidency as soon as possible, the Egyptian official MENA news agency reported.
Gul expressed his country’s support of the three-point Arab League initiative approved earlier this month by Arab foreign ministers on solving the Lebanese presidential crisis, said the report.
Lebanon is currently facing the most serious political crisis since the end of the 1975-1990 civil war.
The Lebanese presidential seat has been void for more than 50 days since Nov. 24, 2007, when former President Emile Lahoud stepped down and the sharply divided Lebanese parliament has delayed the elections for 12 times without a consensus.
On the Palestinian issue, Mubarak said he and his Turkish counterpart agreed on the need to mobilize efforts to push forward the peace process following last November’s Annapolis conference for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.
The two presidents also urged to realize national reconciliation in the war-torn Iraq.
Gul arrived here Monday evening on a three-day visit to Egypt to boost bilateral ties in various domains, particularly in the field of investment cooperation between the two Mediterranean countries.