The Arab world remains determined to overcome all challenges thrust upon the region, the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah said Sunday, calling for unity and concerted response across the board in the face of such adversity.
Allaying concerns over lagging growth across the region, he told a gathering of Arab leaders and senior officials in the Tunisian capital that keeping the status quo is no longer an option.
He highlighted a decade-long plan to fulfil the ambitions of the Arab people, pinpointing initiatives Kuwait has made in recent years to push that plan closer to fruition.
In this context, the Amir reiterated sharp condemnation of the attacks as a criminal act, while supporting all international efforts to eliminate terrorism.
On the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Kuwaiti Amir said it continues to be the Arab world's "chief concern", while the matter has been largely overlooked by the international community. He stressed that unless a just settlement of the Palestinian question which leads to the end of the occupation and the establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, there will be no peace in the region.
Stressing that any peace process that is not based on those referrals will stay away from the ground and not achieve a just and comprehensive solution. He expressed regret and disapproval for US recognition of Israel's sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights and said the step departs from UN resolution 497 and damages the peace process.
On the situation in Syria, the Amir said the world is convinced that the fighting that has lasted for more than eight years will not lead to a solution to the bloody conflict. A political solution that satisfies the demands of the Syrian people and achieves Syria's security, sovereignty and territorial integrity should be made possible.
Regarding the situation in Yemen, he said the efforts to implement the Stockholm agreement are facing obstacles and hoped a political solution to end the bloody conflict and human suffering in Yemen will be reached. 
In particular, the Amir of Kuwait welcomed the United Nations plan of action presented by Ghassan Salame, Special Representative of the Secretary General to Libya.
Meanwhile, he pointed out that it was necessary to maintain amicable relations with Iran, which fully abide by the principles of international law, including non-interference in the internal affairs of other states.
On the scourge of terrorism, the Amir said it remains a lingering threat, citing the "horrific" attacks on a pair of mosques in New Zealand recently as affirmation.
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