ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — Arab leaders gathered Tuesday in Algeria for the 31st summit of the largest annual Arab convention to seek a rare word on the issues dividing the region. prices in the Middle East and Africa.
The occasion provides an opportunity for Algeria, Africa’s largest country through the territory, to show its leadership in the Arab world. Algeria is a major manufacturer of oil and fuel and is seen by European nations as a key supplier in the context of the global energy crisis stemming from Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The 22-member Arab League held its last summit in 2019, before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. In the following years, new demanding situations radically changed the timeline of the region: the status quo of diplomatic relations between Israel and 4 Arab countries, as well as the consequences of the war in Ukraine.
Discussions at Tuesday-Wednesday summit will focus on the war-fueled food and fuel crises, which have had devastating consequences for Egypt, Lebanon and Tunisia, among other Arab countries, which are struggling to import enough wheat and fuel to satisfy their populations. .
The deepening crisis is the worst drought in decades that has devastated swathes of Somalia, one of the new members of the Arab League, pushing parts of the country to the brink of famine.
The tightening of Russia’s blockade of Ukrainian Black Sea ports on Sunday threatens to further deepen the crisis, with many Arab countries relying almost solely on wheat exports from Ukraine and Russia.
The war in Ukraine “has exacerbated the food and energy security crisis, as well as a host of other reasons. . . climate substitution and herbal disasters,” Tunisian President Kais Saied said in his opening remarks. He called for “strong multilateral action” on Arab food security.
U. N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he is “working tirelessly” with all relevant actors to maintain and expand the agreement on Ukraine’s grain exports from its Black Sea ports.
“We want to do everything we can to Array . . . bring relief to those in need, adding countries in the Middle East and North Africa that have food and fertilizer available, whether it’s from Ukraine or Russia,” said Guterres, a guest of honor. at the summit.
To the chagrin of Ukraine and its Western backers, the war has a rare point of unity among Arab League members, almost all of whom adopt a position of neutrality.
Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed the stance in a letter to summit participants without mentioning the war. Putin said in the letter published on the online page of the Russian embassy in Algiers on Tuesday.
It is very likely that other issues will remain more controversial. The series of normalization agreements that the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco have signed with Israel over the past three years has divided the region into two camps. Sudan also agreed to establish ties with Israel.
Algeria continued to vehemently oppose the agreements, and President Abdelmadjid Tebboune pledged in his opening speech to make great efforts at the summit to try to reaffirm the Palestinians in their confrontation with Israel.
“The Palestinian factor is the mother of all factors,” Tabboun said. He criticized Israel’s “aggression against Palestinians” and called for the unity of Palestinian political factions as “the way out of the impasse. “
Last month, Algeria held talks aimed at ending Palestinian political division and reconciling the Fatah party, whose Palestinian Authority regulates parts of the occupied West Bank, and the militant group Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip.
The summit in Algeria coincides with Israel’s parliamentary elections amid heightened tensions in the West Bank, where the Israeli military has carried out overnight arrests in search of Palestinian militants. and others who are not involved in violence.
The assembly also comes amid emerging tensions between Algeria and Morocco, as Algiers severed diplomatic relations with its North African neighbor last year. the Polisario Front is supported through Algeria and the independence of the region has not been easy for decades.
Morocco’s developing ties with Israel, which come with an army and a security agreement, have further worsened relations between North Africa’s neighbors. Under pressure from other Arab states, Algeria invited Morocco to the summit. After a dispute on Monday, Morocco’s King Mohamed VI will remain away “because of the wrong signals sent through Algiers,” a Moroccan diplomat said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
The meetings will be attended by the country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Bourita.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman officially announced earlier this month that he would attend the summit for “health reasons. “
Syria is also absent from this year’s summit, having been expelled from the league in 2011 as punishment for President Bashir Assad’s brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests.
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Jeffery returns from Cairo and Surk from Nice, France.