Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah (L, front) attends the closing session of the Arab Economic, Social and Development Summit in Kuwait City, Kuwait, on January 20, 2009. The first Arab economic summit concluded on January 20, 2009. [Xinhua]

Arab leaders concluded their first economic summit on Tuesday with an adoption of resolutions highlighting the importance of reconstruction efforts in the war-battered Gaza Strip and condemning anew the Israeli aggression on the Palestinian territory.

The Arab leaders agreed to rebuild Gaza through a rehabilitation and construction program in coordination with the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), said the resolutions announced by Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa at the end of the two-day summit meeting.

According to the resolutions, the Arab leaders called for continuing humanitarian assistance to Gazans suffering from three weeks of massive Israeli offensive, providing financial and technical support for the rehabilitation of infrastructure, health services, and improving Palestinians' living standards in the strip.

The leaders attending the summit were expected to map out practical steps to stabilize the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and devote aid to the reconstruction of the besieged coastal enclave.

But the final resolutions stopped short of mentioning a highly-expected Arab fund worth US$2 billion for the post-war reconstruction process of the Palestinian enclave.

Meanwhile, Moussa said Arab foreign ministers held a closed-door meeting and studied the dangerous situation resulted from the Israeli aggression on Gaza, which has killed more than 1,300 Palestinians.

The top diplomats condemned the Israeli atrocious assault, demanded an immediate halt of the military operations and swift withdrawal of the Israeli forces from Gaza, he added.

The two-day summit had been designed to be a chance for Arab leaders to sidestep political divisions and focus on economic matters.

Due to the Israeli military offensive on the besieged Palestinian enclave that began on December 27, the Gaza situation had dominated the economic meeting, attended by 17 Arab heads of state and the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

(Xinhua News Agency January 21, 2009)