Brussels, 11/02/2005 (Agence Europe) - A delegation from the European Parliament led by Lilli Gruber (PSE, Italy) visited Riyadh and Jeddah on the occasion of the first local elections in Saudi Arabia. Lilli Gruber, the President of the EP delegation for Relations with Gulf Countries, strongly criticised the exclusion of women from the vote and gave encouragement to Saudis who are working “for the inclusion of all citizens in the electoral process”, says a communication. MEPs met Prince Abdullah, the Secretary General for National Dialogue, members of the Maglis Al-Shura and women's associations, underlining the need to combat terrorism and fundamentalism while upholding human rights and civil liberties. The MEPs also want the EU and Saudi Arabia to support each other's efforts in achieving a satisfactory outcome to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and urged “planning an early visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by the EU Commissioner for external affairs and/or the EU High Representative for the CFSP”.