Powell outlines US foreign policy

"The global war on terror will remain the priority of the administration," Powell told reporters Monday on his flight to Mexico, his first foreign trip since Bush's re-election a week ago.

"We will continue to consolidate the sucess we have seen in Afghanistan as manifested in the presidential elections," he added, a day before meeting with Mexican President Vicente Fox.

Powell also stressed the importance of fighting alongside Pakistan "to defeat the Al-Qaeda and Taliban elements that are working in the frontier areas of Pakistan, as well as continuing to fight those elements that came in Afghanistan and that are trying to stop democracy."

"Irak, of course, is a major priority," Powell said, adding that he was pleased the Iraqis were going ahead with their planned elections in January, ushering in a democratic government to replace the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein, one of three regimes Bush branded the "axis of evil."

The US official, however, failed to mention the other two axis members -- Iran and North Korea -- despite their nuclear ambitions, so often mentioned by Bush's election rival, Democrat John Kerry, during his campaign.

Powell also omitted Latin America in his comments, despite his planned meetings Tuesday here with Fox and Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez focusing on immigration and Bush's proposal to extend teporary residence permits to Mexicans living illegally in the United States.

The Middle East, however, was also brought up by Powell as a major US foreign policy issue over the next four years.

"The United States stands by to work very actively to get the road map moving forward," he said referring to a stalled peace plan for the region.

"We are watching very carefully what's happening in the Middle East," he added in a clear allusion to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who is in a critical condition at a Paris hospital.

"Since he went to hospital in Paris," he added, "I have been impressed by the manner in which the Palestinian leaders back in the territories have been discussing among themselves and how they move forward."

Powell also stressed that Bush wanted to have a strong relationship with European allies during his second term, "notwithstanding any disagreements that we had in the past," referring to France and Germany's firm opposition to the US-led war on Iraq last year.