JERUSALEM: Israeli President Shimon Peres will head to Cairo on Tuesday for talks with Egyptian counterpart Hosni Mubarak, his office said on Sunday.

The two presidents will discuss the latest developments in the Middle East peace process and the issue of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who was seized by Gaza Strip insurgents three years ago, it said in a statement.

Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement have been holding indirect talks via Egypt on a prisoner exchange that would see Shalit freed in return for the release of hundreds of Palestinians in Israeli jails.

Egypt is Israel s most important Arab ally and the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with the Jewish state. -AFP