Full Iraqi sovereignty key to stability: Egypt

"It is important to work together for a situation where the Iraqi people regain their full sovereignty, and this should pave the way for stability," Maher told Al-Qabas daily ahead of his arrival in Kuwait to take part in a meeting for Iraq's neighbours opening here later Saturday.

The two-day conference, the fifth of its kind, is scheduled to discuss the post-war situation and its repercussions on regional security, officials have said.

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The forum will bring together for the first time Iraqi interim Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, and his counterparts from Kuwait, Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iran, Bahrain and Egypt.

Maher said he believed the rise in attacks in Iraq was "partly due to issues of the past, and also because many (Iraqis) are not comfortable with the presence of foreign forces in Iraq.

"I believe that the key issue that may achieve normality is to arrive at a settlement among Iraqis that guarantees they regain practicing full sovereignty over their united territories," he said.

In Cairo, before leaving for Kuwait, he also said "the meeting will discuss the means of helping the Iraqi people in the political construction of their state and recovering their sovereignty, as well as helping with the reconstruction itself."

Zebari was quoted as saying Thursday that the meeting will give him "the opportunity to explain the Iraqi position and the progress in the political process in the country".

It will also touch on "fears by neighbouring states about developments in Iraq," he said.