Arab ministers discuss key issues at Kuwait meeting

QNA/KuwaitArab foreign ministers yesterday concluded their preparatory meeting here held under the chairmanship of Kuwait’s First Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Khaled al-Hamad al-Sabah ahead of the 25th Arab Summit to be held in Kuwait tomorrow and on March 26. Qatar’s Foreign Minister HE Dr Khalid bin Mohamed al-Attiyah led his country’s delegation to the meeting. Qatar was the rotating chairman of the 24th session. Sheikh Sabah thanked the participants for their valuable contributions to the meeting, praising the cordial atmosphere that prevailed during the deliberations, thus paving the way for a smooth summit starting today. The preparatory meeting discussed many political and security issues, economic and social crises.Among the important topics were the Syrian crisis and the human suffering of refugees and the displaced people and the Palestinian issue and the peace process in the Middle East, in addition to Arab solidarity with Lebanon and providing political and economic support to it. They also discussed the situation in Libya, Yemen and asserted the sovereignty of the United Arab Emirates on the islands of Greater and Lesser Tunbs and Abu Musa.The other topics were peace and development in Sudan, the situation in Somalia and the support for the Republic of the Comoros in addition to the conflict of Djibouti-Eritrea.They reiterated the need to respect the rule of Djibouti and the unity and territorial integrity. The Arab ministers also discussed the issues of fight against international terrorism and the dangers of the Israeli arms race on the Arab national security, the international peace and efforts to the establishment of a zone free of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East. The preparation of the Arab General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as well as the relations of Arab-African and European-Mediterranean Partnership were also discussed. The ministers also discussed in their preparatory meeting the draft statute of the Arab Court for Human Rights and reports and recommendations on the reform and development of the Arab League.