Egypt has tightened security measures all out on Wednesday in the Red Sea resort for an international conference on Iraq on May 3-4 in hopes of helping restore security in Iraq, but the war-torn nation has just witnessed another deadly month in April.

The high-profile ministerial meetings follow an ambassador- level preliminary international meeting, which was held in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad on March 10.

LARGEST MINISTERIAL MEETING ON IRAQ SINCE 2003

The two ministerial meetings will gather senior diplomats from Iraq's six neighbors, namely Iran, Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, plus Bahrain, Egypt, the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Conference and the UN.

Also attending will be senior diplomats from the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, including the United States, Britain, Russia, China and France, and members of the G-8, including Germany, Canada, Japan and Italy.

The Sharm el-Sheikh conference will be the largest international ministerial meeting on Iraq since the U.S.-led coalition forces seized Baghdad in April, 2003.

Some 1,300 media people have registered to cover the conference, according to the official news agency MENA.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said over 50 countries will participate in the conference, of which 15 nations will send in their foreign ministers. In addition, representatives from about 12 regional and international organizations will also join in the conference.

Of those participating foreign ministers are U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, who was reportedly not to meet Rice during the conference.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari, however, told reporters in Sharm el-Sheikh on Wednesday afternoon that it was "highly probable" that Mottaki will meet with Rice.

If so, it will be the first time for the two countries' foreign ministers to hold a formal public meeting after the arch-foe cut diplomatic ties in 1980 following the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran.

EGYPT'S RESORT ON HIGH ALERT

In fact, it will be the second time for Sharm el-Sheikh to host an international conference on Iraq. In November, 2004, the resort held a similar, yet smaller-scale, ministerial meeting, which gathered senior diplomats from about 20 nations and regional and international organizations.

Sharm el-Sheikh, at the southern bottom of the Sinai Peninsula, is known not only for its spectacular Red Sea beaches and ultra- clear water, but also for its title of "The City of Peace", referring to the large number of international peace conferences that have been held here.

Yet the city's reputation for making peace was marred in July of 2005 when it was hit by three terror attacks, which killed at least 60 people.

Nearly two years later, the Egyptian authorities still took no chance. Egyptian media reported that the authorities has carried out the-highest-level security measures to ensure a safe and smooth conference.

In the small coast town, extra police forces have been deployed and strict security scrutiny has been enforced. Vehicles at hotels and the resort's international conference center, which is to hold the two-day meetings, were thoroughly searched and media staff underwent careful check.

In an evidence of how tight the security situation is, Xinhua correspondents, who came from Cairo to the resort by bus, needed to show identity papers six times to pass through security check.

ANOTHER DEADLY MONTH IN IRAQ

As diplomats from world major nations and Iraq's neighbors flew into the Egyptian resort in hopes of helping Iraq restore security and reconstruct, the war-torn country has just witnessed another deadly month in April.

Official statistics released by the Iraqi government on Tuesday indicated that car bombing and other violence in Iraq have left 1, 506 Iraqi civilians dead in April.

In addition, some 130 Iraqi policemen and 63 Iraqi soldiers were killed in April, according to the statistics.

April was also one of the deadliest months for the U.S. forces in Iraq.

The U.S. military said on Monday that five American soldiers were killed in separate attacks in Iraq, bringing the number of U. S. soldiers killed in Iraq to at least 104 in April, the deadliest month so far this year.

About 3,350 U.S. soldiers have been killed in Iraq since the U. S.-led invasion in March 2003, according to media count based on Pentagon figures.

Source: Xinhua