Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit held talks with visiting U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Tuesday on the latest developments in the Middle East, the official news agency MENA reported.

Rice arrived in the Egyptian capital earlier in the day as part of her regional tour, which has already taken her to Saudi Arabia.

She was expected to hold talks on Tuesday afternoon with eight Arab foreign ministers from Egypt, Jordan plus the six nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council -- Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait.

She was also expected to meet with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Wednesday morning.

Resumption of the Mideast peace process and the efforts to bring the Palestinians and Israelis back to the negotiating table top Rice's agenda of talks.

An earlier report by MENA quoted Abul Gheit as saying that Tuesday's meeting between Arab foreign ministers and Rice was not directed against Iran.

"Not at all, the meeting's agenda involves Arab issues such as the activation of the peace process, Lebanese reconciliation, Palestinian reconciliation, Iraq, Darfur and finally the situation in the Gulf," he said when he was asked about whether they would discuss the ways against Iran as the Islamic Republic insists on its nuclear rights.

Source: Xinhua