Analysts And Experts to QNA: Urgent Topics on Arab Summit Agenda Awaiting Urgent Solutions

Many urgent crises that the Arab nation awaits a resolution for will be on the agenda of the 33rd regular session of the Arab League Council at the summit level in Bahrain on Thursday, primarily the situation in the Gaza Strip, Sudan, Libya and Yemen and efforts of achieving the Arab food security. Several experts and analysts affirmed to Qatar News Agency that the Arab summit will be a landmark as it convenes amid highly complex circumstances and difficulties that precipitate reunification, given the challenges and crises that are set to strenuously dominate the discussions of the Arab leaders at this summit so as to put an end to the current tensions and reach solutions that restore stability and security to the Arab nations. Speaking to QNA, Professor of Political Science at Cairo University Dr. Hassan Salama said the topics on the agenda items come on the heels of critical conditions, particularly the aggression on the Gaza Strip which garners a considerable amount of focus in these talks, highlighting that the issue is not merely entangled with the tensions, but with a global structure which is in a state of flux as well, especially with the unceasing Russian conflict with Ukraine and the entire Europe. Dr. Hassan Salama underlined that the issue is unequivocally entangled with the idea of multipolarity, as all these incidents affect the Arab region and increase the pace of tensions, specifically the war on Gaza, the situation in Sudan, Libya, Somalia, Yemen, and other Arab countries, adding that the humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza enclave deserves foremost attention, but at the same time, there are other flashpoints that could potentially morph into the same situation and should earn equal amount of attention. He stressed that the civil war in Sudan and the worsening situation in Libya among parties to the conflict presage an enormous peril at the expense of the Arab national security, posing an existential threat to the entire Arab bloc. He confirmed that the matter requires tremendous attention o n the part of Arab leaders to other flashpoints to ensure the situation does not worsen further due to the regional and global interventions. There are regional parties that have interest in the continuation of these tensions, with the existence of international parties within the framework of what is so-called a power struggle being so interested in the continuation of this tension, as those parties strive to preclude the return to the national statehood, whether in Libya, Sudan, Yemen or other territories, Dr. Salama pointed out, emphasizing that there have been numerous Arab attempts to converge the viewpoints among parties to the conflict, whether in Sudan, Libya or Somalia. He stressed that these viewpoints should continue to forge the idea of restoring the national statehood and calling for ending foreign interventions, underscoring the importance of taking concrete measures that reflect a shared Arab desire pertinent to these critical topics on the agenda items, in addition to creating Arab focal poi nts to either engage with parties to the conflict, or alternatively organize a mass meeting so as to support governments, legitimate parties and renounce regional interventions. Dr. Salama underscored that it is critical for a wide diversity of parties to have determination to defuse the tensions in Libya, Sudan, Yemen, and Somalia; to give foremost priority to the higher national interest other than the partisan one. For his part, Member of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Rakha Ahmad Hassan highlighted to QNA that the pressing items on the summit's agenda require addressing the deferred critical Arab reunification topic in this summit, affirming that it is extremely significant for the summit to not only adhere to decisions that would never be upheld, but rather set a tangible plan for implementing these decisions, in addition to reaching the Arab reunification and accord as a minimum threshold, followed by unshakable goal and destiny. Ambassador Rakha Hassan stated that Arab countries possess huge material and economic resources through which they gain massive influence over all regional and global issues and crises. He underscored the importance of having relationships to be as balanced as the foremost interests of other countries in the Middle East region, prompting crisis management on the part of Arab countries and be part and parcel of the solution within the framework of recalibrating the notion of Arab national security. As to the Israeli war of aggression on the Gaza enclave, there must be differentiation between two crucial things; notably the ideological and political orientations, along with the strive of the Palestinian resistance to fend off a threat both on the Arab region and the question of Palestine, irrespective of agreement and disagreement with this existential resistance, added Rakha. He stressed the need for standing with the Palestinian resistance in defending the rights of Palestinians against a de facto occupation state, with the question of Palestine currently r everberating across the American and western communities and has returned to the fore after it previously disappeared. Former Assistant Foreign Minister for African Affairs in Egypt, Ambassador Mona Omar, affirmed to QNA that the coming Arab summit is poised to tackle critical Arab issues, foremost of which are the situation in the Gaza Strip, ending the Israeli occupation and other Arab crises that are expected to receive considerable attention, such as the situation in Sudan and Libya. She pointed out that the situation in Sudan has been marginalized over the past period due to the accelerating pace of developments and humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip, notwithstanding the situation in Sudan is as brutal as the situation unfolding in Gaza and reached an extremely critical stage that poses a threat to the national security of all neighboring countries of Sudan. She noted that Sudan borders a substantial number of countries with the unfolding incidents in this country directly affecting the situati on in those neighbors, since the tensions have potential spillover effects into those countries, in addition to triggering mass influx of displaced people and refugees, since Sudan borders the Red sea as well, portending some kind of military confrontation that could possibly affect the freedom of navigation and compound the already perilous situation in the Red sea. Ambassador Mona Omar added that the situation could aggravate the plight of Sudanese people with a severe starvation that could potentially affect the rest of the civilian residents, something that precipitates an urgent action during the Arab summit to provide massive support for Sudan in the coming period. The situation in Libya is a little bit different, because the country enjoys numerous economic and material resources that could help overcome its crisis, but its needs to stop foreign interventions and military presence of any foreign country in its territory, she highlighted, emphasizing that this issue will, likewise, dominate the agenda items of the summit, as the final statement of the event is expected to call for stopping the foreign interference in Libya's domestic affairs. Regarding the summit's economic dossier, Head of the Capital Center for Economic Studies in Egypt, economist Dr. Khaled Al Shafi'i told QNA that the Arab countries can make numerous achievements, in terms of food security and securing food and Agri products, stressing the importance of maximum utilization of the joint Arab market, as well as sharing economic, industrial, agricultural and tourism integration among the Arab nations. Al Shafi'i considered the summit an opportunity to forge a regional alliance among the Arab states to counter challenges and broaden the horizons of the Arab economy globally and have a global leadership. He emphasized the significance of the role of joint Arab market in optimizing trade exchanges and tackling the shortage of food, in pursuit of achieving food integration, given the challenging situation, world food crisis and war in Ukrai ne, along with their massive fallout on Arab food security. He affirmed that this topic will strongly dominate the agenda items of the Arab summit. Source: Qatar News Agency