EU-Arab leaders pledge new era in ties

Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt: EU and Arab League leaders pledged closer cooperation at their first-ever summit. The leaders said in a final statement they were determined to start a “new era” of cooperation in different domains. Assigned by His Majesty Sultan Qaboos, His Highness Sayyid Asaad bin Tareq al Said, Deputy Prime Minister for International Relations and Cooperation Affairs and Personal Representative of His Majesty the Sultan, led the Sultanate’s delegation at the summit.

The final communique of the summit stressed the strengthening of the Arab-European partnership, support for real international and multilateral system, agreement to resolve the Libyan crisis known as the Skhirat agreement, welcome the Stockholm ceasefire agreement in Hodeidah in Yemen, and allow the flow of humanitarian aid in Yemen and cooperation in fight against terrorism.

The summit called on the two sides to cooperate in stopping illegal immigration, drying up the sources of support for terrorist groups and organisations and preventing incitement to hatred and racism.

It also called for adherence to common stand in the Middle East peace process, illegality of the settlements, commitment to a two-state solution, getting rid of weapons of mass destruction in the region and resolving Syrian crisis.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el Sisi said: “A terrorist act would turn Sharm el Sheikh, which you see a beautiful city, into a ghost town,” Sisi remarked to reporters.

Sisi hailed the summit, held over the past two days in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el Sheikh, and acknowledged disagreements with Europe.

“It was natural for us to have diverse points on some issues in terms of diagnosing them or addressing them.” Migration, conflicts in the Arab region, security and trade were the focus of the summit.

“We will work to address the root causes of terrorism and deepen our efforts to combat the movement of foreign terrorists across our borders,” European Council President Donald Tusk said. — Agencies