QNA/Doha
HE the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor al-Thani has underlined that the decisions reached by the 24th Arab Summit in Doha reflected the real will for achieving the aspirations of the Arab people.
Speaking at a joint press conference on Tuesday night with the Arab League Secretary General Dr Nabil al-Arabi, the Premier and Foreign Minister said that the summit was of great significance.
He noted that that the Syrian opposition delegation which participated in the summit was granted the seat of Syria at this summit.
It was also decided to hold an international conference at the United Nations for the reconstruction of Syria and international organisations were urged to recognise the coalition forces of the revolution and the Syrian opposition.
Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor al-Thani added that an Arab delegation was formed to go to Washington at the end of April for consultations with the US administration about the stalled peace process.
He explained that the summit has taken a decision to hold an Arab mini-summit on the Palestinian reconciliation. The summit also agreed on the proposal of HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani to set up a fund for Jerusalem, pointing out that the Israeli side had allocated an amount of $5bn to Judaise the city during the next five years.
Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim said in this regard that East Jerusalem was almost completely swallowed, necessitating a serious Arab move to support brethren Jerusalemites and develop their city, noting that the Islamic Development Bank would take over the management of this fund.
The Prime Minister and Foreign Minister stressed on the Arab consensus at the summit to reform the Arab League, underscoring that the issue of reform became inevitable and there is a commitment from all Arab countries to implement it.
He said in this context it was decided to build an annex to the General Secretariat of the Arab League, adding that HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani donated on behalf of the State of Qatar for building that annex.
He said that the summit agreed to set up a pension fund for the employees of the Arab League, adding that the Emir approved the establishment of this fund, which is an initiative of Arab League Secretary General Dr Nabil al-Arabi. The Emir praised the initiative and the Arab leaders approved a decision on it, he added.
The Prime Minister said the reform process is not just a building or budget, but it is the will to change some regulations and systems in the Arab League, whether voting systems or otherwise.
He explained that these issues were discussed thoroughly by leaders and by foreign ministers, pointing to the existence of genuine desire to improve joint Arab action.
The Prime Minister and Foreign Minister said the right of self-defence was guaranteed by all UN charters. He added that the Syrian people deserve, for what they did in the revolution, much more from the Arab leaders. He noted that they held a number of meetings in Doha to find a peaceful resolution to the Syrian crisis, but they sensed that the Syrian regime was merely trying to waste time.
On developing the Arab League, the Prime Minister stated that the Arab League’s handling of the Libyan and Syrian issues was part of its progress.
On reform in the State of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor al-Thani said that Qatar is continuing with its reform efforts, stressing that the Emir has continuously talked about reform ever since he took over.
The Prime Minister denied the accusations that the State of Qatar sought to intervene in the affairs of Egypt or supported one party at the expense of another.
He added: “We are dealing with governments, not with individuals”.
The Prime Minister and Foreign Minister said that Qatar was supportive of change in Egypt and Tunisia long before the Muslim Brotherhood took over.
He added that Qatar began helping Egypt during the reign of the Supreme Council of Armed Forces right after the revolution, the same case was with Tunisia as Qatar supported them when Al Sabsi was the prime minister.
The Prime Minister and Foreign Minister added that Qatar respected both the ruling party and opposition in Egypt. He said that a lot of money was pumped into Egyptian media to turn the public against Qatar.
Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor al-Thani said that Qatar did not commit any crime in Egypt, but rather dealt with all the ruling parties after the revolution whether it was the Supreme Council of Armed Forces or the transitional government. He stressed that Egypt was much bigger “than being bought with money” and labelled the country as a “bigger sister”.
He also denied all the accusations levelled at Qatar that surfaced in some Egyptian media such as buying and renting the Suez Canal or the pyramids, stressing that Qatar did not discuss such issues.
Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor al-Thani said that when the subject of renting the pyramids was investigated it was found that a person from an Arab country sent a message to the Egyptian government proposing to give the pyramids on rent. “We did not discuss this and we did not even speak about it.”
He denied in the same context rumours about the purchase of Suez Canal. “We did not mention the Suez Canal and we did not talk about renting or buying the canal”.
The Prime Minister said that Qatar had some differences with other countries when it decided to back the revolutions.
It was even accused of trying to playing a role that did not fit Qatar’s size, he added.
The Prime Minister maintained that Qatar’s strategy was finding a role for the entire Arab region, led by the bigger countries, that would benefit the entire Arab nation.
The Prime Minister and Foreign Minister stressed Qatar’s support to the Syrian people.
He expressed confidence that the Syrian revolution would win. He said: “Things are moving in a way that leads to the victory of the Syrian people and this is what we wish.”
Regarding the initiative of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim highlighted the keenness of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia to unify the Arabs. He referred in this context to the Arab peace initiative in 2002, which he launched at the Beirut summit and which was adopted by the Arab League.
Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor al-Thani said that the initiative was creative and a chance for peace that Israelis had missed. “This initiative is still the nucleus for resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict,” he added.
On the Qatari-Iraqi ties and the meeting of HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani with Iraqi vice-president on the sidelines of the Doha summit, the Premier and Foreign Minister stressed that the meeting was good, friendly and frank.
For his part Arab League Secretary-General Dr Nabil al-Arabi said that this year’s summit dealt with the Palestinian issue as its number one priority.
He highlighted the initiative to establish a fund to support Jerusalem worth $1bn as an important step. He praised HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani for pledging a quarter of that amount to the fund.
HE the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor al-Thani and Arab League Secretary General Dr Nabil al-Arabi addressing a
