"This is an Arab and international consensus," Mubarak was quoted by the official MENA news agency as saying during a tour of the Sharq el Oweinat irrigation project in the Western Desert.

"For the possibility that Iraq will be governed by foreigners, any Arab state could not say yes," he said, adding the Arab League Charter should be revised to deal with the current changes.

During his talks with Jordanian King Abdullah II in Cairo on Monday, Mubarak considered it necessary to maintain Iraq's territorial integrity and sovereignty and to respect the Iraqi people's right to choose their leadership and determine their future.

On Sunday, Arab League chief Amr Moussa stressed that the Arabs should take part in Iraq's reconstruction after Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's regime was toppled by US-led coalition forces last week.

Anarchy in Iraq has worsened since US troops thrust into the heart of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad last Wednesday and ended Saddam's 24-year rule.

Looting has been rampant in many areas of Baghdad in the absence of government rule and law since the collapse of Saddam's regime, raising concerns and fears among local residents.

Defying international opposition, the United States and Britain launched a war against Iraq on March 20 in a bid to topple Saddam.

(Xinhua News Agency April 16, 2003)