(16 Dec 2006)
1. Exterior of Presidential Palace
2. Various of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and British Prime Minister Tony Blair
3. Various of Mubarak and Blair shaking hands
4. Cutaway to cameraman
5. Exterior of office of the Grand Imam of al-Azhar Mosque
6. Mohammed Sayed Tantawy, the Grand Imam of al-Azhar Mosque meeting with Blair in front of journalists
7. Wide of meeting, pan to follow pair out of room
8. SOUNDBITE: (English) Tony Blair, British Prime Minister:
"It's a very great honour for me to come and visit his eminence whose fame and reputation is worldwide, for bringing about greater understand between people of different faiths and I very much welcome the opportunity to discuss this with him. Thank you."
9. Wide of Blair and Mohammed Sayed Tantawy standing next to a poster of al-Azhar Mosque
10. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Mohammed Sayed Tantawy, Grand Sheik of al-Azhar Mosque:
"Islam is approaching with open hands to everyone approaching for peace."
11. Blair walking away down corridor with Mohammed Sayed Tantawy
STORYLINE:
British Prime Minister Tony Blair arrived in Egypt on Saturday for Middle East peace talks, saying the next few days and weeks would be critical in determining whether Israel and the Palestinians can break their cycle of violence.
Blair planned to hold talks with President Hosni Mubarak, a key player in ending the spiralling violence between rival Palestinian factions that have seen kidnappings and gun battles in the West Bank and Gaza.
Blair also met Mohammed Sayeed Tantawy, Grand Imam of the al-Azar mosque, one of the Muslim world's most important religious institutions.
He said it was "a very great honour for me to come and visit his eminence who's fame and reputation is worldwide, for bringing about greater understand between people of different faiths and I very much welcome the opportunity to discuss this with him."
Earlier in Ankara, the previous stop on his Middle East tour, Blair expressed his concern at the situation in the Middle East, saying the next few weeks are critical for the peace process.
Blair was speaking after talks with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who Blair sees as a key ally in the quest for an Israeli-Palestinian peace settlement that could stabilise the whole region.
After Egypt, Blair will visit Israel, the Palestinian Territories and the United Arab Emirates over the next few days.
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