Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt welcomed Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's pledge late Tuesday to stand down in September, calling for "free and fair elections" in the country

"The Mubarak era in Egyptian politics is over," Bildt wrote in a statement late Tuesday.

"Now I truly hope that the transition to a democratic, pluralistic and stable Egypt can begin... Now the decisive task will be to organise free and fair elections of Egypt's next president and to create credibility for the political development until then," he added.

"A genuine and open dialogue about the transition is a prerequisite for a peaceful development. The Egyptian people's possibility to freely choose must not be limited," Bildt said.

The embattled Mubarak, 82, who has been in power for three decades, announced late on Tuesday that he had never intended to run for another term in office after days of protests against his rule that have left an estimated 300 people dead and more than 3,000 injured.