20100828
reuters

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak is set to visit France on Sunday for talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, his second visit to the European country in two months, state agency MENA said.

Mubarak, 82, will then travel to the United States to participate in the launch of direct negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis on September 2.

MENA said Mubarak was to "discuss with Sarkozy ways to support the direct negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis to reach a peace agreement allowing for a Palestinian state" and other issues.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced on Friday the launch of direct talks between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, the first direct negotiations in 20 months.

Mubarak visited Germany in March for gallbladder surgery in Heidelberg Hospital. In 2004, he had surgery for a slipped disc at a Munich hospital.

Both events sparked rumours about his health, sending jitters through Egypt's financial markets because he has no designated successor. Mubarak has not appointed a vice president, the post he held before taking office in 1981.