ALGIERS, Oct 30 (NNN-APS) – The Secretary-General of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, said here yesterday that, food security and the Palestinian issue, will be on the top agenda of the Arab League Summit due on Nov 1 and 2.
In his opening remarks, at the proceedings of the foreign ministers’ preparatory meeting for the Arab League Summit, Aboul-Gheit urged the Palestinian factions to implement the Algiers Declaration, signed two weeks ago in Algiers, in a bid to reach real reconciliation.
He further noted that the summit of the Arab League in Algiers “should be a milestone for a brand new joint Arab action.”
Given that the summit’s top agenda include discussions to address global and regional food crises, Aboul-Gheit called for concrete measures and strategies to be adopted, to achieve and enhance food security in the Arab region.
Algeria, yesterday, took over the presidency of the Council of Arab Foreign Ministers from Tunisia, in preparation for the Arab League Summit.
The Tunisian Foreign Minister, Othman Jerandi, symbolically handed over the presidency of the Council of Arab Foreign Ministers to his Algerian counterpart, Ramtane Lamamra, who announced the beginning of the proceedings of the foreign ministers’ preparatory meeting.
In his opening remarks, Lamamra called for “the respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Arab countries and the non-interference in their internal affairs,” adding, “we count on everyone to make a new start for a joint Arab action at the Algiers Summit.”
He further advocated for reconciliation among the Arab countries, noting, “we hope that our meetings will be crowned with success, as we are urged to redouble our efforts, in a bid to push forward peace and reconciliation among our countries.”
The Algerian top diplomat also indicated that the Palestinian issue will be the top agenda of the Arab League Summit, noting that, the recent meeting of the Palestinian factions in Algiers will pave the way for establishing reconciliation ahead of forming a national unity government.
The Arab foreign ministers will hold today, another preparatory meeting, as the last step before the convening of the summit meeting.– NNN-APS