CAIRO: Egypt, whose head of mission in Baghdad was killed in 2005, is to open two consulates in Iraq, Foreign Minister Ahmad Abou al-Gheit announced on Tuesday.

He told reporters that President Hosni Mubarak has approved the opening of an Egyptian consulate in the northern city of Arbil and another in the port city of Basra, southern Iraq.

Egypt’s leader met earlier on Tuesday with Massud Barzani, president of the Kurdish regional government for northern Iraq that is based in Arbil, and Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdel Mehdi.

An Egyptian ambassador has been posted in Iraq since November 2009 as head of mission, after a four-year break since the murder of charge d’affaires Ihab al-Sharif in an attack claimed by Al-Qaeda.

Meanwhile, late Monday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Mubarak discussed ways to relaunch the stalled peace process between Israel and the Palestinians.

“We looked at initiatives it will be possible to take,” Mubarak told reporters after a 45-minute meeting with the French leader that also touched on ties between their countries.

The Israelis and Palestinians began US-mediated indirect talks on May 9 but they were thrown into disarray by Israel’s announcement of plans for settlement construction in occupied Arab East Jerusalem.

Source: The Daily Star