CAIRO: Saudi Arabia s ambassador to the Arab League announced Tuesday that Riyadh will host the organization’s next summit on March 28 and 29 in a bid to heal divisions in the region.
Ahmed Al-Qatan made the announcement after a meeting on Monday night with Arab League Chief Amr Moussa, adding that foreign ministers would hold a preparatory meeting on March 26 also in the Saudi capital.
Riyadh had originally declined to hold the next annual summit following a 2006 meeting in Khartoum, resulting in an announcement the 2007 gathering of Arab heads of state would be held in Sharm El-Sheikh.
Asked about the change in position, Al-Qatan told reporters that King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia understands well that the region is passing through a critical and delicate period .
The king hopes to unify the ranks because the Arab world is witnessing many problems in Lebanon, Palestine, Iraq and Somalia , the permanent representative said.
If these issues are not addressed, the situation will get worse and King Abdullah believes that healing the rifts is the prime incentive to hold the Arab summit in Riyadh, he added.
Saudi Arabia is to send out invitations for the summit to the leaders of the Arab world, including Libyan leader Moammer Qaddafi, the ambassador said.
At an Arab summit in Sharm El-Sheikh just days before the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003, Qaddafi and Abdullah clashed publicly and hurled insults at each other until the live transmission of the event was cut.
The 22-member Arab League traditionally holds its annual summit in March in different Arab capitals.
