CAIRO, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Egypt said on Monday the Arab quartet and the United States are scheduled to meet this week to exchange views on standing up to the current situation in the Middle East region.

    In a statement, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said that the foreign ministers of the Arab quartet, namely, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the United Emirates, will meet with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Egypt's southern city of Aswan on Saturday, or March 24.

    The officials would discuss means of supporting the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) after the formation of a national unity government and to seek a settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, he added.

    The 25-member Palestinian unity government, headed by Ismail Haneya of Hamas, was sworn in on March 17 after it won an almost uncontested vote of confidence in the Palestinian Legislative Council.

    Working with the Palestinian and other Arab parties, Egypt is making efforts to restore the Palestinian institutions that were destroyed over the past six years mainly due to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Abul Gheit said.

    According to Abul Gheit, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will also meet with Rice on Sunday, or March 25.

    Earlier, Abul Gheit announced that Rice is scheduled to visit Egypt as part of her upcoming Middle East tour to pursue efforts to revive the Mideast peace process, which will also take her to Israel and the Palestinian territories.