U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrives at the Old Cataract hotel in Aswan, Egypt. Rice held talks with key Middle East allies Saturday about reviving an Arab plan for peace with Israel that might also help invigorate troubled Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, a senior U.S. official said.(Xinhua/AFP Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    CAIRO, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Visiting U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice held a consultative meeting with foreign ministers of the Arab Quartet in the southern Egyptian city of Aswan on Saturday evening, Egypt's official news agency MENA reported.

    During the talks, Rice and the officials from the Arab Quartet, which groups Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), exchanged views on the Arab-U.S. stance on how to push forward the Mideast peace process as well as the situation in Iraq and Sudan's western region of Darfur, according to MENA.

    They will hold a press conference on Sunday to inform the outcome of the Arab-US consultative meeting, MENA said, adding Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is expected to meet with Rice on Sunday.

    Rice, who arrived in Aswan earlier in the day, is on a regional tour to pursue efforts to revive the Mideast peace process, which will also take her to Israel and the Palestinian territories.

    The visit came just days before the Arab summit in Riyadh due on March 28-29, during which the Arab peace initiative is very likely to be renewed.