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2nd LD: Egypt welcomes formation of joint Arab military force: Sisi

Xinhua, March 28, 2015 Adjust font size:

Egypt welcomes the formation of an Arab united military force to protect the Arab national security, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi told an Arab League summit on Saturday.

"Egypt welcomes the draft resolution submitted by the Arab foreign ministers to the summit regarding the formation of a joint Arab force to be a tool to face the challenges facing the Arab national security," Sisi said in his opening statement at the 26th Arab League Summit held in Egypt's resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh.

The Egyptian president said terrorism is one of the main challenges facing the regional national security, calling for collective Arab work to deal with the issue and fix the social conditions promoting terrorism, including youths' unemployment and lack of social services.

"Terrorism represents the basic tool for ruining the entities of states," Sisi told the summit entitled "Challenges Facing Arab National Security," which is attended by 20 Arab monarchs and presidents.

Sisi, who chairs this annual two-day meeting, also said that the Arabs have the right to deter any hostile actions against any Arab friendly country, referring to a recent Arab military operation led by Saudi Arabia against Shiite Houth rebels who have seized parts of Yemen and ousted the country's president.

Several heads of Arab states, including Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Yemen have addressed the opening session.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and head of the Islamic Organization of Cooperation Iyad Madani have also attended and addressed the opening session.

Arab leaders are expected to focus on regional security issues, most significantly the recent developments in Yemen, Libya, Iraq and Syria, where Islamic terror militias hold sway.

Heads of states will also talk over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the stalled Middle East peace process.

Tight security measures have been taken in the tourist Red Sea resort city, as large numbers of police and army troops, backed by helicopters, deployed to secure the Summit. Endit