Arab leaders stress need to close Iraq - Kuwait file; support uprising
Regional, Politics, 3/28/2001

Deliberations of the ordinary Arab summit was opened with the participation of Arab kings, Presidents and heads of participating delegations.

In its two day deliberations, the summit will discuss means of supporting the Palestinian Intifada, backing Syria and Lebanon in confrontation of the Israeli threats as well as revitalizing Arab boycott of Israel and to foreign companies working with it.

The summit will also discuss several political and economic issues of concern to the Arab nation.

The Arab leaders who on Tuesday talked on the morning and night session of the summit which started its deliberations in Amman on Tuesday held a unanimous stand on the need of closing the file of the past (Iraq-Kuwait) and making an inter- Arab reconciliation and support for the Palestinian Intifada.

An optimism prevailed, stemming from speeches delivered on the possibility of reaching the formula of " the state between Iraq and Kuwait" amid intensive consultations that happened in the lobbies of the summit especially the meeting took place between President Hosni Mubarak and the deputy chairman of the Iraqi revolution leadership council Izzat Ibrahim.

The opening session delayed for 45 minutes, waiting for the end of the meeting which said that during which a formula will be issued as a sort of " declaration as a supplement to the final statement of the summit."

The Jordanian King Abdullah II inaugurated the morning opening session by calling for one minute silence in memory of " the martyrs of the Palestinian Intifada."

During this morning session which lasted for 2.5 hours speeches were made by President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt in his capacity as a former President for the summit, then King Abdullah Bin al-Hussein, the Secretary General of the Arab League Dr. Ismat Abdul Miguid, the UN secretary general Kofi Annan, the secretary general of the Organization of the Islamic conference Abdul Wahid Balqaziz; the secretary general of the African Unity Organization Salem Ahmad Salem, the Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, the Lebanese President Emil Lahoud and the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The night's session started by a speech delivered by the Tunisian President Zein al-Abidin Bin Ali, then the Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, and then the Libyan President Mu'ammar al-Qaddafi who asked the session to be a closed door. After al-Qaddafi's speech the summit returned to be in open and the speakers were respectively, the ruler of Bahrain Sheikh Hamad Bin Issa al-Khaleifa; of Qatar Sheikh Hamad Bin Khaleifa al-Thani and the Somali President Ahmad Salad Hassan.

Until Tuesday after noon the Omani deputy prime minister Fahd Bin Mahmoud who led his country's delegation to the summit, was the first Arab Gulf official who met with Izzat Ibrahim.

Previous Stories:
  Morocco wants new style in Arab-African cooperation   (3/27/2001)
  Moroccan FM: Arab summit comes at decisive turning point   (3/27/2001)
  Chronology of Arab summit   (3/27/2001)
  The Arab foreign ministers and the Iraqi question   (3/27/2001)

Please add a link on your webiste pointing to ArabicNews.com and bookmark ArabicNews.com & subscribe to our daily email news bulletin.

Search