One week before its convening, Butaflika takes part, Arab leaders absent from the Arab summit
Regional, Politics, 5/18/2004

The Algerian foreign ministry has announced that President Abdul Aziz Butaflika will take part in the Arab summit to be held in Tunisia on next Saturday and Sunday, while other Arab leaders announced they will not attend this summit.

On the other hand, the Algerian official news agency said that the next Arab summit will be held in March 2005 in Algiers, according to the decision of the Arab foreign ministers during a preliminary meeting for Tunisia summit held in Cairo on May 8 and 10.

The Algerian foreign minister Abdul Aziz Nalkhadem denied in a statement that Algeria has any intention to nominate itself for the post of the general secretariat of the Arab League, at least in the meantime.

Balkhadem explained that Algerian proposal for the summit is that the AL to be converted into a regional commission proceeds into the principles of democracy and transparency. A matter which gives it credibility and weight in the Arab and international political arena.

While Butaflika is considered the first President of state to announce his participation in the Arab summit, it was announced on Sunday in Sanaa that the Yemeni President Ali Abdullah saleh will not be attending the Tunisia summit.

It was also announced on Sunday in al-Manama that the King of Bahrain Hamad Bin Issa al-Khaleifa whose country presided over the past Arab Summit in Sharm Esh Sheikh will not attend the meetings of the Arab summit and that the prime minister Sheikh Khaleifa Bin Salman al-Khaleifa will preside over the delegation of the Kingdom to the summit.

For its part, Kuwait, announced it will be represented in the summit by its prime minister Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah.

Press sources quoted well-informed Saudi sources that the Saudi crown prince Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz will be absent from the summit and the Saudi foreign minister Prince Saud al-Faisal will preside over the delegation of the Kingdom.

Meantime, the secretary general of the Arab League Amr Moussa said that the Arab leaders will discuss the document on reforms on the Arab world, stressing that reform is necessary and does not come from America. He added " if Americans only speaks about reform, then it will be possible to talk with it, but it talks about the Greater Middle East and its has objectives beyond the issue of reform." He explained that " the reform paper" which will be submitted to the summit was prepared, noting that one of the most important item is transparency, political reform, and judiciary independence and the right of the women." He also indicated that the summit will also discuss the issue of handing over the authority to the Iraqis, the Palestinian- Israeli conflict, as well as the " establishment of an Arab parliament and an Arab court of Justice, an Arab investment Bank and an Arab security council."

Previous Stories:
  Moussa criticizes Amman's world economic Forum over Iraq issue   (5/17/2004)
  Yemeni President is the first absentee from Tunisia's summit   (5/17/2004)
  Reforms in Arab World must come within, not impose, US official   (5/15/2004)

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