(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Algeria is bracing for hosting the 31st regular session of the Arab League Council Summit on Nov. 1-2, amid hopes that it will bolster Arab reunification and joint Arab action, focus on the Palestinian cause and give Arab solidarity a fresh start by combining Arab efforts against multi-sided challenges.
Algeria stressed full preparedness to host the fourth Arab League summit in its history, which takes place at a critical time at both Arab and global levels. Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune voiced hopes the Summit would succeed, stressing his country seeks nothing but Arab reunification.
Algeria started early and serious preparations to ensure success of the Arab Summit. President Tebboune and Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra paid several official visits to Arab capitals with a focus on bringing the views of Arab countries closer.
All parties count on the Algiers Summit to boost the pan-Arab values of cooperation and solidarity and push forward joint Arab action to ensure a prestigious Arab position that enables Arab nation to exercise its leading role on the global arena, and face the common challenges imposed by the current international circumstances.
Arab leaderships and streets hope that the Algiers Summit will unify Arab ranks amid current regional and international circumstances, particularly with regard to the Palestinian cause and the arbitrary and criminal Israeli measures against the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The upcoming summit is due to discuss several issues, at top of which will be the Palestinian cause, Arab food security and energy, and the repercussions of the war in Ukraine on Arab countries in all fields.
Apart from Arab leaders, the summit will be attended by the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Chairman of Non-Aligned Movement President Ilham Aliyev of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Chairperson of the African Union President Macky Sall of the Republic of Senegal.
Speaking exclusively to Qatar News Agency (QNA), Algerian MP Abdelkader Djedea from the Council of the Nation (the Paliament's Upper House) stressed that the success of the summit is stipulated by the extent of seriousness in raising major issues for discussion, amid regional and global geopolitical challenges that surround all parties.
The Algiers Summit will be an opportunity for Arab countries to speak out loudly, in a way that reflects their history and past, Djedea said, stressing his country's endeavors to foster the approach of non-alignment and the peoples' rights to self-determination.
He added that the Arab countries need to unify ranks, goals and programs, and adopt reunification initiatives to meet the challenges of the 21st century. He also stressed that Algeria's keenness to sponsor a meeting between all Palestinian factions ahead of the summit to sign a reconciliation deal and end their discord was not accidental.
Political Science Professor at the University of Algiers, Lazhar Moroc told QNA that the Arab summit hosted by Algeria bears temporal and spatial significance. Maroc expected the summit will succeed for several considerations, stressing that it will re-bring the Palestinian cause to the forefront, end differences and support and open up new horizons.
Also commenting on the forthcoming summit, Algerian political analyst and international affairs researcher, Wahid Bou Tariq, told QNA that Algeria's approaches are based on its experience in dealing with many thorny issues through peaceful solutions, as well as its experience in fighting terrorism in the 1990s. In this respect, he highlighted the Ethiopia-Eritrea peace agreement hammered out in Algiers in 2000, and the role of Algerian diplomacy to resolve other regional crises.
Professor at Renewable Energy Development Center Dr. Mohamed Ben Ali told QNA that the Arab summit will lead to bold and historic consensual decisions, which, he sees, will play a central role in the global map, particularly in the energy sector. These decisions depend mainly on what Arab leaders want to do in a volatile environment, and the required measures amid the energy crisis, particularly in Europe, he said.
Bin Ali added that the Arab leaders will seize the opportunity to speak honestly to serve the interests of the region and the unity of the Arab ranks.
In an exclusive statement to QNA, Head of Algerian Center for Economic Foresight, Investment Development and Entrepreneurship, Zidi Akram, stressed that setting up the Greater Arab Free Trade Area (GAFTA) and adopting initiatives seeking Arab economic integration must be among the priorities of the Arab leaders' work, particularly amid current international circumstances with the ongoing war in Ukraine affecting the global economy.
Zidi stressed the need to activate the Arab Common Market to achieve a major Arab economic power against the current international economic crisis, as well as Arab integration in the economic and trade fields.
Palestinian Reconciliation Deal as a Good Sign
Algeria said that the upcoming Arab Summit will see a 'broad, big and ambitious' agenda. Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra said that the summit's agenda is based mainly on Arab leaders' visions amid a volatile international environment, and the required consensual measures to achieve Arab interests in a bid to impose Arab existence in post-coronavirus and post-crisis Ukraine era.
Lamamra added that the agenda also includes items dealing with all political and economic issues related to Arab countries and peoples, and what amounts to thinking about a better future based on the role of civil society.
He stressed that the reconciliation deal signed between Palestinian factions in Algiers positively reflects on the work of the Arab summit, hailing the reconciliation as 'a criterion for the ability of Arabs to unite. If the Palestinians unite, then unifying Arab opinions becomes easier than before, Lamamra said.
He hailed the 'Algeria Declaration of National Reconciliation' as a good sign and clear message that Arabs should unite as the Palestinians did, stressing that Palestine will remain the noble cause for which Arabs should unite and abandon their discords.
The Fourth Algeria-Hosted Summit
This is the fourth Arab summit hosted by Algeria since its accession to the Arab League in 1962. The first-ever Algeria-held Arab summit was in 1973 during the reign of late Algerian President Houari Boumediene. That summit, the sixth in the history of Arab League summits, marked Mauritania's accession to the League and resolved to provide financial and military support to the Egyptian and Syrian armies to continue their war against Israel. The summit called for the complete liberation of all territories lost in June 1967 and refused any solution that 'might be harmful to complete Arab sovereignty over the Holy City of Jerusalem. It also stipulated the restoration of the Palestinian peoples national rights as for peace with Israel.
In 1988, Algeria hosted an emergency Arab summit during the era of late President Chadli Bendjedid. The summit discussed the latest developments in the occupied Palestinian territories and condemned the US aggression against Libya. This emergency summit culminated in eight resolutions, most notably supporting the First Palestinian (Intifada) uprising, calling for an international peace conference in the Middle East under the auspices of the UN, affirming standing by Lebanon to restore its territories, and condemning the US aggression on Libya.
The third Arab summit hosted by Algeria was in 2005. It reaffirmed Arab commitment to the Arab Peace Initiative, and stressed international legitimacy and relevant UN resolutions, particularly Resolutions 242 and 338, the land-for-peace principle and the Madrid Peace Conference as foundations for the peace process.
That summit also reiterated respect for Iraq's unity, sovereignty, independence and non-interference in its internal affairs, and welcomed the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement.
Last updated: October 29 2022 01:11 PM