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Roundup: Terrorism, security to feature on Arab League Summit agenda

Xinhua, July 25, 2016 Adjust font size:

The fight against terrorism, security and the possibility of setting up a joint intervention force, will be some of the major issues to be discussed during the Arab League Summit that will be held between Monday and Tuesday in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott.

Enhanced coordination between Arab states, especially in the area of security, as well as finding an urgent response to the violence in Syria and Iraq, will equally feature during the Summit.

On Saturday, the Arab quartet of United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt met in Nouakchott and urged Iran to stop interfering in the internal affairs of other Arab countries.

Elsewhere, Arab foreign affairs ministers meeting on Saturday to prepare the agenda of the summit, appealed for resolution of crises currently facing the Arab world, especially the war in Syria, Libya and Yemen.

They called for a "lasting solution for the Israel-Arab conflict" and expressed support for Middle East peace initiatives led by France and Egypt.

Mauritania's Foreign Minister Isselkou Ould Ahmed Izid Bih said he was convinced the Nouakchott summit will open a "new page of history for a common Arab action based on solidarity."

"This summit will represent a new start for Arab action based on cooperation and consultation to end crises facing the Arab world, especially multinational violence," the foreign minister said.

The problem of terrorism remains a major challenge for most Arab countries, with some of them like Egypt appealing through its Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry for "prioritization of defeating terrorism."

It is in this regard that the Arab League has proposed the formation of an Arab multinational force to urgently deal with the scourge of terrorism.

According to Ahmed Ben Helli, the deputy secretary general of the Arab League, the principle of forming a unified military force was already accepted during 2015 Arab League Summit held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

"The only remaining thing is to define the composition, the nature as well as aspects of its scope," Helli said.

The summit will also discuss the initiative by Sudan's president for an Arab agricultural investment in his country to guarantee food security as well as a water security strategy in the Arab world.

Further, the two-day summit will discuss a scientific and technological research strategy and a project for creation of an Arab center for cooperation and research on AIDS.

Finally, the summit will end with the adoption of a document dubbed "Nouakchott Declaration", which, according to observers, will give a unified position of Arab League member states on major issues.

Mauritania has for the first time organized a summit of the Arab League states since joining the 22-member organization in 1973. Twenty-one member states are expected to participate in the summit after Syria's participation in the League was suspended in 2011 due to continued violence in the country despite an agreed peace plan. Endit