Pushing forward the Middle East peace process is the major issue in a meeting on Tuesday in Washington DC between US President Barack Obama and his visiting Egyptian counterpart Hosni Mubarak.

Other topics such as US ties with the Arabic world, and Egypt's political reform are also being discussed.

The Egyptian President has acknowledged U.S. efforts to restart talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

U.S. President Barack Obama has praised Israel for its "right movement" on the Jewish settlement issue, referring to the reports that the Israeli government had stopped issuing permission for new settlements in the West Bank.

He called on the Palestinians and the Arab countries to make peace gestures toward Israel.