ARAB LEAGUE TO HOLD URGENT FMS MEETING ON ISRAELI AGGRESSION

Cairo, 15 Ramadhan 1435/13 Juli 2014 (MINA) – The Arab League decided Saturday to hold an emergency foreign ministerial meeting on Monday to discuss the deteriorating situation in Gaza Strip in the aftermath of the ongoing Israeli aggression.

A well-informed Arab League source stated that Arab foreign ministers will convene at the request of Kuwait, currently holding the rotating Arab League leadership WAFA Palestinian News & Information Agency quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

Kuwait’s permanent representative to the Arab League Aziz Al-Daihani sent an official letter to Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Al-Arabi calling for holding such a meeting.

“This meeting will be held following the UN Security Council’s failure to assume its responsibilities in terms of making an immediate intervention to oblige Israel to halt its aggression on Gaza Strip and provide protection to Palestinian civilians,” said the source.

The Arab League (formally, the League of Arab States is a regional organization of Arab countries in and around North Africa, the Horn of Africa, and Southwest Asia. It was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945 with six members: Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan (renamed Jordan in 1949), Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Syria. Yemen joined as a member on 5 May 1945. Currently, the League has 22 members, although Syria’s participation has been suspended since November 2011 as a consequence of government repression during the ongoing uprising and civil war.

The League’s main goal is to “draw closer the relations between member States and co-ordinate collaboration between them, to safeguard their independence and sovereignty, and to consider in a general way the affairs and interests of the Arab countries”.

Through institutions such as the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO) and the Economic and Social Council of the Arab League’s Council of Arab Economic Unity (CAEU), the Arab League facilitates political, economic, cultural, scientific and social programs designed to promote the interests of the Arab world. It has served as a forum for the member states to coordinate their policy positions, to deliberate on matters of common concern, to settle some Arab disputes, and to limit conflicts such as the 1958 Lebanon crisis.

The League has served as a platform for the drafting and conclusion of many landmark documents promoting economic integration. One example is the Joint Arab Economic Action Charter, which outlines the principles for economic activities in the region.(T/P02/P04)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)