Preparatory meeting agrees draft agenda of Arab Summit

DEAD SEA, Jordan, March 25 (KUNA) -- The Arab League Council concluded on Saturday a preparatory meeting for the 28th Arab Summit, on the level of permanent delegates and senior officials, with agreement on the draft agenda of the event.
The 17-item agenda has been submitted to the foreign ministers' meeting for endorsement on Monday, March 27, according to a statement by the media center of the summit.
The majority of the topics are standing agenda items for the Arab League's Council; they include, inter alia, the issues of Palestine, the occupied Syrian Golan Heights and Lebanon as well as the Arab joint efforts to achieve socio-economic development.
The agenda also includes a report by League's Secretary General on socio-economic joint action and a review of the implementation of the resolutions of the Nouakchott summit of last July.
The Palestine question featured prominently in the just-ended meeting, the statement said.
The conferees debated the latest developments of the political situation in Palestine, the Middle East conflict, the Arab peace initiative, the two-state vision for solution and the efforts to establish an independent Palestinian state within the borders of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital city.
They also exchanged views on the Israeli settlement expansions in the occupied Palestinian territories, the separation wall, UN Security Council Resolution No. 2334 and Palestinian refugees as well as ways to support the efforts of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
The conferees expressed solidarity with the Palestinian people and highlighted the need to offer financial assistance to the State of Palestine and Lebanon.
Regarding the Syrian crisis, they reaffirmed that only through political negotiations the crisis could be settled, stressing the need to address the humanitarian disaster.
Under a Jordanian request, the conferees agreed to add to the agenda a topic on the Syrian refugee crisis that has serious political, social and economic impacts on the host countries, particularly Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon, Egypt and Sudan.
They discussed the possible ways for stabilizing Libya, helping Somalia and promoting the peace efforts and development in Sudan.
Other standing agenda items are the Iranian occupation of the three UAE Arabian Gulf islands of Abu Mousa and the Greater and Lesser Tonbs; the Iranian interferences in the domestic affairs of the Arab countries; and "the need to adopt a firm stance against the Turkish violations of Iraq's sovereignty.
The conferees renewed condemnation of all forms of terrorism and reviewed the efforts, and mechanism to combat terrorism and cement the national security of the Arab countries.
They discussed a proposal to convene an Arab-European summit based on the declaration of the fourth Arab-EU foreign ministers meeting of last December.
They also debated the efforts to upgrade the Arab joint action system represented in the Arab League with a view to keeping abreast with the accelerated changes on the regional and international levels.
Kuwait's Assistant Foreign Minister for Arab Homeland Affairs Aziz Al-Daihani included the country's Permanent Delegate to the League Ahmad Al-Baker represented the country at the meeting. (pickup previous) mjb.gb