INTRODUCTION: British Foreign Secretary Dr. David Owen ended his two-day official visit to Egypt this week with an admission that Britain was 'very worried about the extent of Soviet arms supplies around Africa'. His top-level discussions in Egypt -- one of the strongest critics in Africa of Soviet policy there -- centered largely around the issue.

SYNOPSIS: Dr. Owen is on a tour of the Middle East discussing possible British involvement in the resumption of the 1973 Geneva Mid-East peace talks. His Cairo talks included a meeting with Egyptian Prime Minister Mamdouh Salem, and he told newsmen afterwards that the Egyptian leadership showed concern for the potentially explosive situation in the Horn of Africa where the Soviet Union has a base in Somalia. Ethiopia was also a problem, he said, and the situation there formed a major part of their discussions.

Dr. Owen, who went on for a 45-minute meeting with President Anwar Sadat before flying to Syria, said he did not intend meeting any Palestinian leaders on his tour. While it was his basic philosophy that he was prepare to go anywhere and see anyone in the interests of peace, he said, he did not think now was the best moment to moot the Palestinians. Dr. Owen's other Cairo meetings included talks with Foreign Minister Ismail Fahmy and War Minister General Mohammed Gamassi.