US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will leave for London Monday to attend Middle East conference scheduled to be held on March 1, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Friday.

During her stay in London, Rice will meet with representatives of United States' partners in the "quartet" of diplomatic powers seeking Israeli-Palestinian peace: the European Union, United Nations and Russia.

She will also have talks with British officials on bilateral issues before she returns home on Wednesday, Boucher said.

The British-sponsored international meeting is reportedly to focus on efforts to help Palestinian authorities reform their finances and security system.

It will include 30 delegations, including a number of Arab states and other members of the international donor community who will come together to express their support for the new Palestinian leadership.

The new Palestinian cabinet headed by Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei was sworn in before leader Mahmoud Abbas and Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council Rawhi Fatouh on Thursday.

Source: Xinhua