Arab officials examine files namely Gazans' hardships in Cairo meeting

CAIRO, Feb 11 (KUNA) -- Arab officials held a meeting at a junior level on Sunday examining various files namely the hard conditions suffered by the war-battered people of Gaza.
The meeting was held at the Arab League General Secretariat's headquarters as a prelude to the upcoming 113th ministerial session of the Arab Economic and Social Council. The officials grouped in the Arab social affairs committee and the session was chaired by Jordan.
Topics on the table would be submitted to the 33rd regular Arab summit, scheduled in Bahrain in May.
Ambassador Dr. Haifa Abu Ghazala, the Arab League Secretary General's Assistant and head of the social affairs division, said in a statement that the agenda includes resolutions that had been taken at the ministerial level to alleviate the hard social, humanitarian and health conditions suffered by the brothers in Gaza Strip.
She thanked Egypt namely the Egyptian Red Crescent for delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza, hoping that "this humanitarian tragedy ends, that the blood spilling stops and conditions restore to normalcy so that development efforts begins that the Palestinian citizen lives in peace and security." Her words came amid ongoing Israeli aggression in the strip, with latest reports indicating that Tel Aviv planned an imminent assault on Rafah, the last -- relatively safe -- refuge for hundreds of thousands of Gazans whose houses had turned into heaps of rubble as a result of the heavy Israeli attacks.
Ambassador Abu Ghazala added that the secretariat general had worked out the agenda with consideration to the current developments, namely with respect of the social and economic files that concern every Arab national. She explained that the issues under examination were related to the social, health, educational, technical, professional and youth realms.
There are also other important initiatives on the table -- aimed at boosting the joint Arab social action -- in addition to other topics such as dialogue among civilizations, technology, creativity and women affairs.
Another meeting at this level would be held tomorrow to address Arab economic affairs.
The State of Kuwait's delegation at the meeting is headed by Talal Al-Nimsh, the acting assistant undersecretary for economic affairs at the Ministry of Finance. (end)\ mfm.rk