In Middle East, UN envoy hears leaders' views ahead of General Assembly

A United Nations envoy arrived in Egypt this morning as part of a series of visits to hear the views of the region's leaders about the situation in the Middle East, a UN spokesman said in New York.

Earlier this week, Terje Roed Larsen, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, made a similar trip to Lebanon. His visits are being conducted at the request of Secretary-General Kofi Annan in advance of the annual debate in the UN General Assembly.

Upon arrival in Cairo today, Mr. Larsen met with Amr Moussa, the Secretary-General of the Arab League, and was scheduled to meet with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher.

Yesterday in Beirut, Mr. Larsen discussed with senior Lebanese officials, including President Emile Lahoud and Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, all political and economic issues related to the grave situation in the Middle East. During that visit, he was accompanied by Staffan de Mistura, Mr. Annan's Personal Representative to Southern Lebanon.