CAIRO, Oct 10 (AFP) - A much-anticipated international conference organised by Egypt on the rocky electoral process in Iraq will open on November 25, President Hosni Mubarak's office said Sunday.
"There are ongoing intensive consultations to determine the final result of the conference before it convenes on November 25," presidential spokesman Maged Abdul Fattah told reporters.
Egypt had so far not provided a specific date for the conference, saying only that it would be held in the last week of November. Despite raging violence, the Iraqi government says it is still on target to hold general elections in January.
"This conference aimes to help the Iraqi people on political, economic and security issues... to hold elections at the scheduled date, achieve unity between the different factions and obtain a withdrawal of all foreign forces from Iraq," the spokesman said.
The meeting's agenda is still hotly debated. France, which vehemently opposed the US-led war on Iraq, wants a witdrawal of multinational forces to be discussed and the armed opposition to be included in the talks.
The conference is expected to be attended by Iraq's neighbours, the Group of Eight leading industrialised nations, the Arab League and the Organization of the Islamic Conference, among others.
Abdul Fattah said Mubarak and the Qatari emir also discussed means of enhancing cooperation between their two countries, particularly in the economic, trade and investment fields.