British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who is on a flying visit to Saudi Arabia, met Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz in Riyadh last night. Blair's visit comes days before hosting a Group of Eight (G8) summit during which he hopes to push both a Middle East peace initiative and aid to Africa.

He flew into an air base and was greeted by Riyadh governor Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz.

A Saudi official was quoted earlier saying that "issues of mutual interest", including Iraq and the Middle East peace process, would be discussed.

Blair said he hoped new initiatives on the Middle East would emerge from the annual gathering of world leaders he is to host from July 6 to 8 in Gleneagles, Scotland.

Blair, whose country assumed the rotating EU presidency on Friday, said the bloc should renew efforts to assist the peace process.

Saudi Arabia has come up with its own peace plan, authored by Prince Abdullah and endorsed at an Arab summit in Beirut in 2002, offering Israel peace and normal ties in return for withdrawal from occupied Arab lands.

Blair has also put aid to Africa at the top of his agenda for the G8 summit and will presumably urge Saudi Arabia to contribute to efforts to lift the continent out of poverty

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