His Majesty King Abdullah headed for Cairo on Friday for talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on a coordinated Arab position to prevent further escalation of the crises in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.

King Abdullah is accompanied by Director of King's Office Bassem Awadallah, the King's Special Advisor Farouq Qasrawi, Foreign Minister Abdul Ilah Khatib and Director of the General Intelligence Department General Mohammad Dahabi. HRH Prince Hamzah Ben Al Hussein has been sworn in as regent.

Also on Friday, King Abdullah spoke with US President George Bush and the Emir of Kuwait Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah via telephone. During his phone call with President Bush, King Abdullah stressed the importance of bringing about an immediate cessation of Israeli military operations in Lebanon and the Palestinian territories and a return to diplomacy and dialogue to resolve the region's conflicts. The King and the Kuwait emir discussed Arab and international efforts to prevent further deterioration of the situation in the Middle East.