Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

Amman Summit to Highlight Arab Solidarity, Consensus on Ending Conflict | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Arab foreign ministers attend an emergency meeting on Syria at the Arab League Headquarters in Cairo. (Reuters)


Jordan- Saturday marks the beginning of delegate meetings in preparation for the upcoming Arab League Summit scheduled for March 29.

Permanent representatives of states to the Arab League will be preparing resolution drafts that will be presented before the preliminary meeting of foreign ministers on March 27.

A total of 16 items were submitted to the Summit, while 30 were presented at the ministerial meeting covering all political, economic and social issues. The regulatory committee will hold a meeting at the level of delegates on Saturday morning to follow up on present consultations.

The committee includes the Arab summit troika body, featuring Jordan, Mauritania and Egypt, and the League’s ministerial troika, comprising Tunisia, Algeria and Djibouti.

The first preliminary meeting had kicked off at the Dead Sea area on Thursday with the participation of senior officials of the Economic and Social Council of the Arab League.

Secretary General of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply Yousef Shamali said in remarks that the “potentials, locations and resources of the Arab ummah prompt us to boost economic cooperation, as well as investments,” Jordan’s news agency Petra reported.

Meanwhile, resolutions issued by the summit on vital topics, such as the Palestine cause and the Syria and Libya crises would be relayed by Jordan’s King Abdullah II during his upcoming official visit to Washington, as well as Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who will also be visiting the United States.

The leaders are scheduled to meet with US President Donald Trump, to whom they would convey and uphold unified Arab assertions and positions concerning the two-state solution and the establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, diplomatic sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.

More so, Arab League spokesman Mahmoud Afifi expected Palestinian officials to present a new draft resolution at the summit concerning a political settlement for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, stressing that Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit told media outlets that the officials have not yet submitted a final draft resolution on the issue.

A draft is presented every year at the Arab Summit.

Aboul Gheit pointed out that he expects Palestinian officials to seek rephrasing some of the draft resolution and adjust the wording of its stipulations. He also rebutted rumors circulated by the media on an entirely reinvented draft resolution looming in the horizon.

Jordanian officials said that the Palestinian issue, along with the Syrian and Libyan crises, will top the agenda at the 28th Arab summit, which Jordan is hosting for the fourth time.

Officials also said that Arab leaders are keen on ending violence in Syria and the suffering of the Syrian people. They expressed the desire Arab leaders have in supporting Iraq’s efforts in dealing with security challenges and fighting terrorism and extremism.

The meeting of Arab ministers of foreign affairs will be held on March 27, while the Arab leaders will meet on March 29, Petra reported.