Egypt, S. Arabia focus on Palestine in EU-Arab Summit

By Aydogan Kalabalik

CAIRO

Top Egyptian and Saudi leaders focused on Palestine during a summit on Sunday between Arab and EU countries.

Making the summits inaugural speech at the summit held in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm , Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called for a comprehensive resolution of the Palestinian issue.

He stressed that regional powers had a role in the inability to resolve the conflicts in Libya and Yemen during the summit themed, "Investment in Stability."

For his part, Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz said Palestine was the "priority" of Arab nations, adding that his country wanted a peaceful resolution to the Yemeni conflict under an initiative by Gulf states.

Abdulaziz called for joint international action against Iran, which he condemned for "launching ballistic missiles to Saudi soil and threatening Red Sea security."

The first EU-Arab summit opened in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Sunday amid a high turnout from European officials.

The two-day summit, however, will see a low-level representation from half of countries, according to official statements and Arab media outlets.

Leaders of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, Palestine, Tunisia, Yemen, Libya, Somalia, and Djibouti are expected to participate in the meeting.

Delegations of Lebanon and Morocco will be led by the prime ministers, while Jordan, Sudan, Mauritania Comoros will be represented by the foreign ministers.

Qatar's delegate to the Cairo-based Arab League Ibrahim al-Sahlawi will lead the Gulf state’s delegation to the summit, while the United Arab Emirates is represented by the governor of its Fujairah region.

Germany has yet to make a statement on its absence on the summit’s first day while a French delegate also did not attend"