The Arab League (AL) foreign ministers meeting concluded in
Cairo on Sunday
following a series of resolutions on key regional affairs,
including Iraq, Lebanon, Sudan and Palestine, being issued.
Tunisian Foreign Minister Abdelwaheb Abdallah, who chaired the
gathering, read out the resolutions at a joint press conference
with AL Secretary General Amr Moussa.
According to the resolutions, the Arab foreign ministers pledge
to help implement the Mecca agreement, signed between the rival
Palestinian Hamas and Fatah movements, in February. The agreement
called for an end to conflict between Palestinians and the creation
of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.
The ministers reiterated that Israel cease building the
separation wall while further attacking the Israeli excavation near
the holy al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, the third holiest site for
Muslims.
The Arab states further desired to see a mechanism formed to
advance the Middle East resolution passed by the 1995 nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) review meetings whereby the Mideast
would be free from any weapons of mass destruction.
In the Iraq resolution, the AL member states honored the
independence and unity of the war-torn country, renewing support to
the Iraqi government as it struggles with insurgency and moves
towards national reconciliation.
On Sudan, the Arab ministers agreed that Arab influence in the
African Union peacekeeping mission to Darfur should be bolstered,
urging the international community to help curtail any further
roadblocks for the Abuja peace accord signed in May 2006.
On Lebanon, the ministers pressed for a peaceful solution to end
the Lebanese crisis, calling for all Lebanese to put aside
differences through dialogue.
The meeting also outlined the agenda of the upcoming AL summit
due to be held in late March in Riyadh. The meeting in the Saudi
capital will focus primarily on Iraq, the Palestinian territories
and the Iranian and Israeli nuclear files, according to the
Tunisian foreign minister.
The statement also revealed that the Arab relationship with
international and regional powers, such as China, the US and other
global powers, would also be discussed at the summit.
(Xinhua News Agency March 5, 2007)
