Saudi Arabia to Host Arab Summit on May 19

Gulf

March 27th, 6:40am

Cairo - Asharq Al-Awsat

A view shows vehicles driving on the street in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (File photo: Reuters)

The 32nd Arab summit will be held in Saudi Arabia on May 19, announced the General Secretariat of the Arab League. The League’s assistant secretary general, Hossam Zaki, said the decision came after consultations between Sec-Gen Ahmed Aboul Gheit and the Saudi government. He indicated that Saudi Arabia welcomed hosting the summit on the specified date. Zaki said that "the summit will be preceded by several preparatory meetings between senior officials and ministers over five days.” The League indicated that 2023 is expected to witness the Arab development summit in Mauritania and the Arab-African summit in Saudi Arabia. Aboul Gheit suggested in press statements during his visit to Lebanon that the main topic of the summit should focus on economic issues and helping the neediest Arab regions. Earlier, spokesperson Gamal Roushdy confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that consultations are underway between the Arab League and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to develop the best possible agenda of issues at the forefront of joint Arab action. Roushdy explained that the discussions often continue until the summit's date next May to address all the developments. The official spokesman expected that the Palestinian issue would be at the forefront of the points on the summit's agenda, being a central issue of the Arabs. He also indicated that the recent developments in the occupied territories, including the Israeli violations, would be addressed at the summit.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/4235801/saudi-arabia-host-arab-summit-may-19