Abha, Saudi Arabia -- In a press availability with Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal following their meeting in Abha, Saudi Arabia, September 14, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said she was "very heartened" by the encouragement that the ministers have given her during her visit to the region.

She said that her aim and that of her Saudi counterparts is "to deal with the crisis of confidence that exists in the Middle East Peace Process and to create a better environment for peace."

When asked about her recent appeal to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates to deny funds to Hamas and other militant Islamic groups, the Secretary replied that terrorism "clearly is a very serious issue for all of us and we are working on the problem. I think that we have to do everything we can to control terrorism wherever we can."

Following is the transcript of the press availability:

(Begin transcript)

FOREIGN MINISTER SAUD: I am extremely pleased and happy to welcome Her Excellency, Madame Secretary of State, during her first visit to the region and her first visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Her visit to the region comes at a very critical moment for the peace process. This peace process has been facing serious challenges due to the acts of the Israeli government and measures by the Israeli government that reflects the vagrant violation that do not go hand-in-hand with the peace process and going back on various commitments regarding the peace process. We view the visit by the Secretary of State as an opportunity to examine the various steps needed for the peace process. It is also an opportunity for us to cooperate, to achieve our desire in order to save the peace process and bring it back to its right end.

What Madame Albright said regarding the international legitimacy regarding the principle of land for peace, regarding the harmful impact of unilateral actions and its impact on program status negotiations, all these are signs that can lead us to launch the peace process back and put it on the right track based on its own principles that were started from the beginning. We view the visit by Secretary Albright as an encouraging factor to get out of this difficult problem. We appreciate her efforts in working with the parties of the peace process, trying to save the process out of this grid lock. We appreciate very much her efforts in order to stop the deterioration of the peace process but we hope this will be followed by other steps and other efforts in order to bring the peace process back on its right track. We welcome very much her desire and wish to make the decision and meet with the Foreign Ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The GCC is an organization that's well-known for its support of the peace process.

I have a special request from the Press. Madame Secretary Albright is running a little bit late due to the fact that her meetings took longer than expected. She has a few comments to say and after that we would like to give her the opportunity to proceed to her next appointment.

SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: Thank you very much and let me say how grateful I am to have had the chance to participate in this GCC meeting and the fact its calendar worked out just at the time I was in Saudi Arabia.

I would like to thank the Foreign Minister for the great hospitality that he and Saudi Arabia have shown me during this my first visit, but not last visit. We had a very warm and constructive meeting in which we had the possibility of reaffirming our friendship and cooperation. We all agreed on the importance of reviving the Middle East Peace Process. We spoke about the debilitation that terrorism causes and the punishment that it exerts upon all peoples within the region. I was very glad to be able to discuss with the Ministers the various aspects of what I have done on the other parts of my trip. I was very heartened by the encouragement that the Ministers gave to my efforts and their urging that I continue to do what I can. We all agreed that it was very important to deal with the crisis of confidence that exists in the Middle East Peace Process and to create a better environment for peace. It is my hope that an improved environment will make it possible to have a successful Doha summit which is in the interests of all the people in the region. Our discussions however, ranged beyond the Middle East Peace Process. We also agreed on the strategic importance of protecting the Gulf and the world from Iraq and Iran.

To conclude, I feel it was an excellent meeting. I feel very welcomed. There was a great sense of friendship and I look forward to meeting with all the Ministers again in New York on the margins of the General Assembly.

Q: You've called on the GCC to limit its funding of Hamas, the charitable arms of Hamas. Isn't that effort undermined by the fact that in the United States your own efforts to do that are mired in legal challenges and constitutional debate?

SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: This clearly is a very serious issue for all of us and we are working on the problem. I think that we have to do everything we can to control terrorism wherever we can.