The Foreign Minister, Prince Saud Al-Faisal, and Amr Moussa, Secretary General of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, yesterday met at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo.
Addressing a joint press conference after the meeting, Prince Saud said that they discussed developments in the region, particularly the situation in occupied Palestinian territories and Iraq.
He described his meeting with the Arab League Secretary General as fruitful, and noted that discussions covered proposals for reform in the Arab world.
Prince Saud expressed the Kingdom’s support for ensuring that the Arab League is an effective organization, which protects the interests of member nations by providing scope for joint action and unified stances. He noted the significant of the initiative presented by Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, Deputy Premier and Commander of the National Guard, to the Arab League to promote reform in the Arab world. He said that the proposal of the Crown Prince was intended to enhance the credibility and seriousness of support for reform in the Arab arena.
Prince Saud suggested that the Arab follow-up committee convene imminently to discuss the situation in both Iraq and Palestine.
When asked why he could not meet Abu Mazen in Cairo, the Foreign Minister expressed his regret that a meeting could not be arranged due to time constraint.
In response to a question, he reiterated that Saudi Arabia would not send a peace- keeping force to Iraq unless requested to do so by a legitimate Iraqi government.
He was reluctant to mention details of the Crown Prince’s initiative, but agreed that it suggests measures that should be taken against countries that renege previous commitment to initiatives.
He expressed the Kingdom’s readiness to provide material support for the Palestinian police force.
Amr Moussa expressed his appreciation for the meeting with Prince Saud, and lauded the Kingdom’s significant support for joint Arab action. He said that a number of initiatives have been presented to reform Arab joint action, the most recent of which was the Egyptian initiative to reform the Arab League. He said that he is planning to hold consultations to draft proposals to restructure joint Arab action, which he discussed with Prince Saud, in addition to the situation in Iraq and Palestine.
Source: SPA
