Cairo, Riyadh keen on boosting ties at all levels

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has called on Arab states to rely on joint efforts and their own potentials to formulate decisive solutions to all Arab pressing issues.

In his address to the 32nd Arab Summit, which is hosted by Saudi Arabia in Jeddah, President Sisi stressed on Friday that the key to resolving regional crises is preserving the system of the nation-state and its institutions, underlining the indivisibility of Arab national security.

The Egyptian leader thanked Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman for the warm hospitality accorded to the Arab summiteers and their accompanying delegations and expressed appreciation for the efforts exerted by Algeria to serve Arab interests during its presidency of the previous Arab summit.

President Sisi said that the extraordinary cruel conditions and unprecedented threats that the Arab region has experienced and its safety and security have been exposed to in the recent years have “filled the hearts of millions of Arab people with fear and anxiety and made them deeply skeptical about their present and increasingly worried about what the future may hold.”

“It is now more obvious than ever before that the wise thing to do is to preserve the nation-state system and support national institutions. This is the best choice that can be made to protect the future of the Arab people, for it is never acceptable to continue to leave them hostage to chaos and foreign interference in their affairs in a way that only exacerbate regional problems and undermine all efforts to resolve them,” he said.

As for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, President Sisi called for adherence realising a comprehensive and just peace.

He lamented Israel’s escalation and irresponsible acts in the Palestinian territories, warning that the continuation of militarising the conflict will lead to “dire consequences” for both the Palestinian and Israeli peoples.

“It may be appropriate to reaffirm our commitment to the strategic option of realising comprehensive and just peace through the Arab Peace Initiative on the basis of the resolutions of international legitimacy and demanding that Israel ends the occupation and the establishment of a Palestinian State along the borders of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital,” he said.

The president welcomed the return of Syria to the Arab League, labelling the move as a key step for reaching a settlement to the crisis in the country and to put an end to the suffering of its people.

“The return of Syria to the Arab League is tantamount to the practical activation of the Arab role, and the beginning of an Arab endeavour to settle the Syrian crisis according to international references for a solution, and Security Council Resolution No. 2254,” he said.

The president also called for Arab co-operation to contain the fueling conflict in Sudan, warning against “catastrophic consequences for Sudan and the region”, if Arab states don’t act promptly to reach a settlement.