Cairo: President Hosni Mubarak has said Egypt would like to enhance its co-operation with India in the fields of Information Technology (IT), communication and agriculture.

Mubarak said this during talks with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan, who is leading a delegation of Members of Parliament (MPs) to Egypt.

The President also assured that he would be visiting New Delhi "at the earliest" to collect the Jawaharlal Nehru Peace Award for 1997, official sources said.

Mubarak said the only problem coming in the way of his visit to New Delhi was the regional crisis.

The Egyptian leader enquired from Mahajan about President A P J Abdul Kalam and Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.

Mahajan also had a one-to-one meeting with Mubarak, during which they discussed a variety of issues. Mahajan also extended to the Egyptian President the long-standing invitation to collect the Nehru Peace Prize.

When Mahajan apprised him of the government's policies, and particularly the initiatives in IT and communication sectors, Mubarak evinced keen interest to enhance co-operation with India not only in these areas, but also in the fields of agriculture and industry.

Mubarak also shared with Mahajan his assessment of the Palestinian problem and the situation in Iraq and the efforts on his part to defuse the crisis.

The Indian delegation, during its three-day visit to Egypt, had earlier called on Prime Minister Ates Edeid. The delegation is also visiting South Africa.

PTI