Former archenemies Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and President Hosni Mubarak on Sunday discussed Arab and African issues, Egypt's government-run news agency said. It was the leaders' fourth summit meeting since relations between their neighboring north African countries started improving last year. However, Libya remains the only Arab state that has not officially resumed diplomatic relations with Egypt, severed in 1979 to protest the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty. The Middle East News Agency quoted Information Minister Safwat el-Sherif as saying the leaders met privately for two hours and then had a working lunch. El-Sherif said they discussed ``Arab issues, especially the developments of the Palestinian issue ... also the deteriorating situation in Lebanon ... (and) African issues.'' Following the talks, Mubarak said he would present an Egyptian suggestion for the resettlement of Soviet Jews during his meeting next month with Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. Mubarak did not elaborate but said the issue would top his agenda for the meeting. Israel's settling of Soviet Jews in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip _ which it captured in the 1967 Middle East war _ has angered Arabs. Many believe the influx of Soviet Jews, expected to reach 300,000 over the next three years, will drive Palestinians out of their land and damage chances for peace. ``This land is Arab land and is under dispute, it is very wrong of Israel to act on its own concerning this subject,'' the news agency quoted Mubarak as saying. Mubarak said he has sent messages on the issue to Gorbachev and to President Bush, as has Egypt's Foreign Minister Esmat Abdel-Meguid to his Israeli counterpart, Moshe Arens. Mubarak and Gadhafi met again later Sunday with other officials from both countries. The Middle East News Agency said Mubarak welcomed Gadhafi in the southern resort city of Aswan, 580 miles south of Cairo. The Libyan leader was given an official welcoming ceremony at the airport, followed by a popular welcome by Egyptians who cheered him and Mubarak as they drove to the Soviet-built Aswan High Dam. The Mubarak and Gadhafi summits have taken place outside their countries' capitals since the Libyan leader refuses to visit Cairo as long as the Israeli flag flies over it. Egyptian media reports had said this summit had been scheduled to take place in the Sinai peninsula. Officials have declined to comment on the reason for the change of venue, but the opposition newspaper el-Wafd said Saturday the plans were changed for security reasons after an armed attack two weeks ago on an Israeli tourist bus en route from Israel through the Sinai to Cairo. Nine Israelis were killed and 21 were wounded in the attackm, which authorities say is linked to Palestinian terrorists. The news agency said Mubarak and Gadhafi would visit the Sinai briefly Monday after spending the night in Aswan. Gadhafi's trip was expected to last 24 hours. Following a meeting in December, Egypt and Libya agreed to build roads connecting oases, share television programs and cooperate in agricultural and industrial projects. Egypt and Libya had been bitter enemies since Mubarak's predecessor, Anwar Sadat, refused a bid by Gadhafi to unify their countries in 1972. Relations continued to deteriorate and the countries fought a brief border war in 1977.
