Egyptian FM upbeat on Middle East-EU relations

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said Wednesday he was optimistic the Middle East could work with the European Union to help solve regional problems. "We understand the situations of each other," Aboul Gheit said after talks with Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja of Finland, which takes on the rotating EU presidency next month. "We have the intent to work together in order to make the Middle East and Mediterranean a better place to live in, as well as to settle whatever problems are facing Europe and the Middle East," he said.