Egypt on Monday 6/8/2007 welcomed the outcome of the conference on establishing peace in Darfur that wrapped up in the Tanzanian city of Arusha earlier yesterday.

Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit, in press statements, noted that the conferees were keen on unifying rebel group's stances in a bid to establish peace in the western Sudanese region.

Representatives of the rebel groups reached an agreement on holding final peace talks with the Sudanese government.

Abul-Gheit expressed hope that talks would start as soon as possible with all parties concerned being flexible enough to reach a positive outcome.

Egypt, he pointed out, is siding with peace efforts exerted by UN and AU envoys to Darfur Jan Eliasson and Salem Ahmed Salem respectively.

Moreover, Ahmed Abul-Gheit met Monday with visiting Italian Deputy Foreign Minister for Middle East Affairs Ugo Intini.

The Foreign Ministry spokesman said the meeting dealt with the situation in the Middle East, especially the latest developments in the Palestinian arena and the future of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

"The two sides had identical views on the current conditions and means of realizing progress on the political track" the spokesman added.