With the participation of President Al-Assad, Manama Arab Summit is held amid major challenges in the Arab region

With the participation of President Bashar Al-Assad, leaders, presidents, kings and princes of Arab countries and heads of participating delegations, the activities of the 33rd Arab Summit is currently held in the Bahraini capital, Manama.

The summit is held amidst exceptional circumstances and great challenges taking place in the Arab region, foremost of which is the genocidal war that the Israeli occupation has continued to wage against the Palestinian people for about eight months.

The summit’s agenda addresses various issues related to Arab action in the political, economic, social, cultural, media, and security fields, topped by the Palestinian issue, the ongoing aggression against Gaza Strip, the occupation’s violations in occupied Al-Quds (Jerusalem), the expansion of settlement operations, the apartheid wall, prisoners and refugees issues, the Israeli targeting of UNRWA, and ways to support the steadfastness of the Palestinian people. In addition, the summit will address the situation in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Sudan, Libya and Yemen

The League of Arab States, in accordance with its founding charter on March 22, 1945, aims to strengthen ties and relations between the Arab countries and coordinate their political plans, in order to achieve cooperation between them and preserve their independence and sovereignty, and to generally consider the affairs and interests of the Arab countries. Today it seems that the League has begun to give priority in its summits to discussions on Arab issues more than the speeches, and this was embodied in reducing the duration of speeches that were open to leaders in previous summits to reach “5” minutes at the “Jeddah” summit in Saudi Arabia last year, and then to “3” minutes at the Manama summit, as the sessions will be semi-closed.

Syria, which is always keen to strengthen joint Arab action and cooperation to confront challenges in a way that serves the highest Arab interests, affirms that reforming relations between Arab countries is the best way to make joint Arab cooperation effective, as it is the only way to preserves the dignity and rights of the Arabs and the rights of the Palestinian people, and keep them away from the attacks of Western countries which blatantly interfere in the affairs of the Arab countries with the aim of having an influence on their positions.

President al-Assad’s participation today in the Bahrain summit will not include delivering a speech, but rather will focus on discussions with the leaders on the topics listed on the agenda, especially Arab-Arab relations and developments of the situation in Palestine.

In previous summits, President Al-Assad had presented clear positions towards Arab issues and Arabism, the Palestinian issue, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and the reform of the Arab League to be a true incubator and platform for the Arabs, their issues, and the protection of their rights.

At the “32nd” Arab Summit held in Jeddah last May, President Al-Assad stressed the necessity of focusing on the major headlines that threaten the future of the Arabs and produce crises in the light of the changing international situation that manifests itself in a multipolar world, as a result of the dominance of the West that is devoid of principles, morals, friends and partners.

President Al-Assad pointed out that the role of the League of Arab States comes as the natural platform for discussing and addressing various issues, provided that it develops its work system by reviewing the charter and internal regulations and developing its mechanisms to be in line with the present time as joint Arab action needs common visions, strategies and goals, which are later transformed into executive plans.

The Arab countries need a unified policy, fixed principles, and clear mechanisms and controls. Then the Arab countries will move from reaction to anticipation of events, and the League will be an outlet in the event of a siege, not a partner in it, a refuge from aggression not a platform to launch the aggression.

At the extraordinary Arab-Islamic summit held in Riyadh last November to discuss the Israeli aggression on Gaza, President al-Assad stressed that “Gaza was never an issue, but rather Palestine is the issue and Gaza is an embodiment of its essence and a clear expression of the suffering of its people. The Israeli war on Gaza is part of a whole, and the recent aggression against Gaza is just an event in a long context of events and crimes committed by the Zionist entity over the past 75 years.

President al-Assad stressed that the minimum that the Arabs have are the actual political tools, not the rhetorical ones, the most important of which is stopping any political track with the Zionist entity.

The Arab people are waiting for the summit to come out with important decisions commensurate with the current challenges, so as to establish actual mechanisms for their implementation, in a way that contributes to stopping the war of genocide, starvation and displacement practiced by the Israeli occupation against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, and ensuring immediate and unconditional access to humanitarian aid, in addition to strengthening joint Arab cooperation in various fields, confronting terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, and rejecting foreign interference in the affairs of Arab countries. 

NR