(MENAFN- The Peninsula)
Doha: The Consultative Meeting of Arab Foreign Ministers held yesterday here in Doha, the first since the Arab Summit held here in 2013, proved fruitful as it discussed many important issues and took numerous decisions.
It was an extraordinary session not only due to importance of issues deliberated in the meeting and decisions taken but also due to remarkable participation of Arab Foreign Ministers in it.
The Doha meeting yesterday brought together 17 Arab Foreign Ministers out of 22 members of Arab League, which is an important development indicating remarkable improvement in Arab political atmosphere and desire for joint Arab action since the outbreak of Arab Spring in 2011.
The meeting discussed major regional issues including situation in Libya, Syria, and Gaza efforts to provide 150 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine to Arab citizens as well as disputes of downstream countries, Egypt and Sudan, with Ethiopia over the Renaissance Dam.
''The ministerial meeting expressed full support to Egypt and Sudan considering water security a matter of survival and integral part of Arab national security. Water security is important, it is a survival security, and there is an Arab agreement about this, and we support this orientation,” said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani during a press conference yesterday, adding that Arab momentum is important to implement joint Arab agendas.
In regard to the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, Qatar’s Foreign Minister said, ''There is a decision made by the Ministerial council urging all parties to be serious and refuse any unilateral measures.”
He added: ''There is Arab’s supporting stance to Egypt and Sudan, but at the same time we also support the African Union initiative, and we will convey this message to Ethiopia, and there will be steps coming up in this regard.”
He said that there are steps that will be taken gradually and ''we support all diplomatic efforts to find a solution that satisfies all parties and there is an Arab consensus on this goal.”
Speaking about ties between Qatar and Egypt, H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani pointed out that the relations are moving towards positive direction since the outcome of Al-Ula Summit in Saudi Arabia last January.
''My recent meetings with H E President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi and today’s (yesterday) meeting of the Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani with Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shukry reflect this positive direction of the relations,” he stressed. ''There is a common desire to improve the relations of the two countries” he added.
''We look forward to see firm advancement towards improving the relations with Egypt,” he added, noting that Egypt is important country for all Arabs and Qatar’s relations are developing positively not only with Egypt but also with all Arab countries. ''There are many achievements made during the past years, and we want to build on that to advance joint Arab works,” he explained.
For his part, the Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit, during the joint press conference with Qatar’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, said that there is a decision made by the ministerial consultative meeting (held yesterday) expressing strong support to the downstream countries Egypt and Sudan regarding their dispute over the Ethiopian dam.
He added that the decision indicated that the water security of Egypt and Sudan is integral part of the Arab joint security and rejects any measure that affects their rights, and this is a clear Arab stance.
''The decision asked UN Security Council to bear its responsibility and hold emergency meeting to discuss the situation,” he stressed. The meeting also commissioned the Arab group formed in UNSC in addition to Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Morocco and the General Secretariat of Arab League to continue working with the United Nations and the downstream states.
Regarding the upcoming Arab Summit, Aboul Gheit pointed out that the Foreign Minister of the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria, Sabri Boukadoum, told the meeting that Algeria has made all preparations and to host the Arab Summit and his country is ready to host the summit in October or November, noting that the only obstacle now is the COVID-19 health restrictions.
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