At least seven Arab leaders are confirmed to participate in the 27th Arab League summit being held in Nouakchott, Mauritania for the first time.
Six prime ministers and deputy prime ministers of other countries will represent the rest of Arab League members when the summit kicks off later on Monday.
Arab foreign ministers vowed on Saturday to “defeat terrorism”, as they gathered for a preparatory meeting ahead of the meeting over a week after an ISIS-claimed truck attack in the French Riviera left 84 people dead.
In a statement, they also called for a “definitive solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as Arab League heads of state prepared to meet in the Mauritanian capital on Monday and Tuesday.
“We must defeat terrorism, it’s a priority,” Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said as the meeting began.
His Mauritanian counterpart Isselkou Ould Ahmed Izidbih called on Arab states to coordinate more closely with African nations in order to achieve this goal.
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir arrives in Nouakchott for the 27th Arab League summit. (Mauritanian News Agency)
The ministers also agreed to support “all (initiatives) that can help to end the crises of the Arab world, especially the Syrian, Libyan and Yemeni conflicts”, a statement said.
And they welcomed a French and Egyptian initiative to help revive dormant Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Saudi King Salman are both expected to attend the upcoming summit.
Source:Al Arabiya English, 25 July 2016
