ALGIERS- The Ambassador of Algeria to Egypt and permanent delegate to the Arab League, Abdelhamid Chebira, said, Thursday evening in Algiers, during the preparatory work for the 31st Arab Summit in Algiers that the file of the Arab Customs Union ( UDA) recorded “significant” progress.
Mr. Chebira, who hosted a press conference at the International Press Center (CIC) “Abdelatif Rahal) at the end of the meeting of permanent delegates and senior officials, indicated that “the file of the Arab Customs Union is being examined and is recording significant progress”.
Recalling that the volume of inter-Arab trade did not exceed 5 or 6% of that represented by Arab trade, he noted the need for mechanisms likely to strengthen inter-Arab trade and reactivate the role of the UDA.
The UDA is an item in the reviewed economic brief of the CESA Senior Officials Meeting and will be presented to the Ministerial meeting, on Friday, for adoption with a view to submitting it for the work of the Summit.
Several other issues are on the menu of the economic component, including the Greater Arab Free Trade Zone (GAZALE) to which Algeria officially joined in 2009, food security, a “priority” subject in common Arab cooperation, in particular in relation to the current international context, industry, the development of investment, as well as partnerships between Arab countries.
On the political side, the Algerian representative to the Arab League recalled the “central and pivotal place of the Palestinian cause for the November Summit”, stressing that this file is among the most important on the agenda of this Summit which ” will examine ways to support the Palestinian people and their national leadership to wrest their legitimate right for the establishment of their independent state”.
Emphasizing the constant efforts made by Algeria for the Palestinian cause, Mr. Chebira recalled that “the majority of the political achievements made by the Palestinian people and their national authority have been concretized on Algerian soil”.
Also addressing the issue of Palestinian national reconciliation, Mr. Chebira noted “the capital importance of this issue”, which occupies a “place of choice on the agenda of this Summit”.
He will particularly mention “the remarkable results made possible thanks to the initiative launched by the President of the Republic, Mr. Abdelmadjid Tebboune in coordination with his Palestinian counterpart, Mahmoud Abbas”, an initiative crowned by the signing of the “Declaration of Algiers for the unification of Palestinian ranks.
Mr. Chebira also addressed the Libyan issue, which he described as “extremely important” and a priority in the debates between Arab countries.
“Algeria has a clear vision for a way out of the crisis in this country, a position expressed many times by the President of the Republic when he affirmed that Algeria stands equidistant from all the parties to help the Libyans to get out of the current situation,” he said.
On the Syrian file, the Algerian delegate recalled that it (Syria) had left the Arab League in 2011 for well-known reasons. Consultations were initiated before the Summit with all the Arab countries for the return of Syria, but this country “decided not to participate in order to avoid, according to its head of diplomacy, possible disputes between the Arab countries,” explained Mr. Chebira.
The meeting of the senior officials of the Economic and Social Council of the Arab League (ESC) is discussing the economic and social issues to be submitted to the Arab League Council at the level of the summit, slated for November 1-2, 2022, corresponding to the 7th and 8th of Rabi-Al-Thani 1444 Hijri.
The work of the meeting of the Council of the League of Arab States at the level of permanent delegates and senior officials, preparatory to the meeting of foreign ministers in anticipation of the 31st session of the Arab Summit, wrapped up on Thursday evening in Algiers.
During four closed sessions at the Abdelatif-Rahal International Conference Center (CIC), spread over two days, the permanent delegates and senior officials prepared for the meeting of the Council of the Arab League at the level of Ministers of Foreign Affairs and discussed the draft decisions relating to items on the Summit’s draft agenda.
During their meetings, they also dealt with many political, economic and social issues. The Palestinian cause was also discussed at the political level, as well as the situation in Libya, Yemen and Syria, as well as Arab relations in general.
The participants in the meeting of the permanent delegates of the Council of the League of Arab States and senior officials affirmed that the Arab Summit “will be successful,” stressing “consensus” on draft decisions on the draft agenda of the Summit slated for 1-2 November 2022, corresponding to the 7th and 8th of Rabi-Al-Thani 1444 Hijri.
On the sidelines of the meeting, the Jordanian permanent delegate to the Arab League, Amjad Adaileh indicated that the Algiers Summit “will be crowned with success”, referring to the “consensus on the draft decisions”.
“During the morning session, several draft decisions to be submitted to the Summit were discussed,” he said, adding that “at present, a consensus has been established, which augurs well for this Summit”.
For his part, the Deputy Secretary General of the Arab League, Hussain Hindawi said he was convinced that this meeting “will be crowned with success, in view of the efforts made by the Algerian Government and people, as well as the whole stakeholders in this historic and extremely important event”.
According to Mr. Hindawi, the Algiers Summit “should constitute a step forward, as regards the development of joint Arab action, which will have repercussions on all the questions raised“.
“There is a set of decisions in this summit in favor of the Palestinian reconciliation process which took place in Algeria thanks to the efforts of the Algerian leaders, and which reinforce the action and the struggle of the Palestinian people in order to obtain all their ligitimate rights,” he added.
The representative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the Arab League, Abdul Rahman Al-Jumah, noted the smooth progress of the work under the presidency of Algeria.
For his part, Qatar’s Ambassador to Egypt and Permanent Representative to the Arab League, Salem Moubarek Al-Shafi, expressed his “thanks and gratitude to the Algerian Republic for the warm welcome and hospitality extended to the guests”.
Regarding the work of the Council of the League of Arab States at the level of permanent delegates and senior officials, the Qatari ambassador said that the slogan of “gathering” was enough to anticipate results commensurate with the aspirations of the peoples of the region.
The representative of the Sultanate of Oman to the League of Arab States, Abdullah Bin Nasser Al-Rahbi, praised the efforts made by Algeria for the success of the Arab Summit.
The Omani ambassador underlined everyone’s concern to work to unite Arab ranks, expressing the wish that the decisions of the Arab Summit serve the interests of the Arab peoples.
The Director of the Administration of the Arab League at the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bentahar Ezzine insisted, for his part, on the importance of the inter-Arab consensus for the establishment of a common Arab vision on major crises, particularly those related to the Palestinian cause, the crises in Libya and Sudan.
“What has been achieved so far is promising”, he reassured, adding that “the will with which the Arab countries are armed will be crowned with victory and lead to the Arab consensus”.
“Thirteen (13) items are on the agenda, including the Palestinian cause as well as other issues related to Libya, Yemen, Somalia and Sudan, said the Sudanese diplomat” who stressed that the Arab World was in search of “global solutions for a number of world food and energy crises”, noting that the strategic project of food security was also on the agenda of the work.
Hossam Zaki: “Algeria harnessed all means to make upcoming Arab Summit a success”
The Deputy Secretary General of the Arab League, Hossam Zaki, hailed the tireless efforts exerted by Algeria and the means it has mobilized to ensure the success of the upcoming Arab Summit, expressing his thanks to the President of the Algerian Republic, Mr. Abdelmadjid Tebboune, for his strong sponsorship of this high-level meeting.
In his address at the opening session of the proceedings of the Council of the League of Arab States at the level of permanent delegates and senior officials, in anticipation of the meeting of foreign ministers in preparation for the 31st session of the Arab Summit, scheduled in Algiers, on November 1 and 2, Mr. Hossam Zaki indicated that the Arab League appreciates the efforts made by Algeria.
“A great commendable and laudable effort for which we owe it to ourselves, on behalf of the members of the General Secretariat of the Arab League, to express our thanks to the Algerian State”, just as “we would like to express all our gratitude to the President of the Republic, Mr. Abdelmadjid Tebboune, for his strong sponsorship of this work”, he added.
The Deputy Secretary General of the Arab League hailed, on the occasion, “Algeria’s ability to respond to the multiple requests for the holding of the 1st “zero paper” Arab Summit and its kind availability to provide the necessary means for a summit modern in tune with new technologies that contributes to promoting the Arab League to the rank of prestigious organizations, to be at the service of Arab peoples and countries”.
The latest developments in the Palestinian cause will top the Arab summit agenda, especially in light of the Zionist practices against the Palestinian people in the occupied territories, in addition to African-European-Arab region relations for free trade, economy, investment and trade exchange.
The summit is scheduled to discuss a number of draft resolutions to end inter-Arab differences and restore stability in order to achieve sustainable development for the Arab peoples.
This major event would be the most important in the history of the Arab summits especially after the success of Algeria’s effort to gather the Palestinian factions to sign a reconciliation agreement on Oct. 13, formally known as: “the Declaration of Algiers”.
The latest developments in the Palestinian cause will top the Arab summit agenda, especially in light of the Zionists practices against the Palestinian people in the occupied territories, in addition to African-European-Arab region relations for free trade, economy, investment and trade exchange.
The summit is scheduled to discuss a number of draft resolutions to end inter-Arab differences and restore calm in order to achieve stability and development for the Arab peoples.
The Assistant Secretary-General of the Arab League, Hossam Zaki, stressed the importance of the Arab summit in Algeria, as it has not been held in three years since 2019, at a time when crises have worsened and some of them are still ongoing, which indicates the importance of holding the summit at this time.
Algiers’ Arab Summit…… An occasion for unification
In recent remarks, Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra said Algeria “wants the Arabs to unite on the occasion of this summit, just as the Palestinian ranks were unified.”
In an interview with a local newspaper last month, Algerian President of the Republic Abdelmadjid Tebboune said: “Our keenness to organize the Arab summit in our country stems from our determination to make it a unifying event… It will be, God willing, a new start for the Arab world that is suffering from rupture…”.
Prime Minister Aymen Benabderrahmane said that the Arab meeting would be an occasion “to reaffirm support for the Palestinian cause, as a central Arab cause, by emphasizing the common Arab position represented in the Arab Peace Initiative, which is the framework that guarantees the protection of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.”
For his part, the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, affirmed after being received by the President of the Republic, Mr. Abdelmadjid Tebboune, that the upcoming Arab summit “will indeed be a summit of reunification.”
He expressed his hope that the upcoming meetings of the permanent delegates and then the Arab foreign ministers will end up with “the complete consensus that we are currently monitoring,” adding that Algeria will be at a celebration, on November 1 and 2, in the presence of a large number of Arab leaders.
In this vein, Arab League Assistant Secretary-General Ambassador Hossam Zaki noted that the summit will be held as Algeria marks the anniversary of its revolution against French colonization.
“The Algerians and their Arab brothers will celebrate the occasion together,” Zaki said.
Addressing the Palestinian-Arab “reunion”, which is the slogan of the summit, he remarked that the event will act as a real starting point for more effective Arab work.
A summit without paper…..
The Algeria summit will be a digital summit par excellence, whereby paper will be completely dispensed during all working sessions. The speed of the internet flow via optical fibers will reach 300 megabytes.
Electronic portal dedicated to Algiers’ Arab Summit: Rich information, services for benefit of participants
The electronic portal launched in anticipation of the 31st Arab Summit includes rich information and important documents for those interested in the Summit, in addition to themes and services intended for participants and journalists.
The electronic portal (www.arabsummit2022.dz) is made up of several sections, including documents, the agenda of the Summit, and a platform reserved for the registration of the delegations present at the event, enriched and provided with media content, including preparations for the Summit by the parties concerned.
In addition to the videos, the electronic portal includes photos of meetings and speeches delivered by the President of the Republic, Mr. Abdelmadjid Tebboune, in relation to the Arab Summit, among other information, including testimonies from Arab countries having welcomed the efforts of the President of the Republic for the success of this Arab event.
The user can access the main page which includes a tab dedicated to the Arab League with an overview of the regional organization, its creation, its members, the main objectives enshrined in its constitutive act and the roles it has fulfilled since its existence in favor of the struggle of the Arab peoples for independence and the promotion of peace and security in the Arab world through the peaceful settlement of conflicts.
In addition, the portal displays a tab dedicated to the Summit, with a welcome address to guests and delegations participating in this event, to be held in Algeria, coinciding with the 68th anniversary of the outbreak of the glorious November Revolution.
On the same window, information on the commitment of Algeria, which joined the Arab League a few weeks after its independence, to defend the causes of the Ummah.
The same page also indicates that the Algiers Summit “is being held in complex international and regional circumstances, sensitive events and difficult contexts.
The portal also features passages to make Algeria and its cultural heritage known, as well as media materials on the November 1 Revolution.
