Update 28 July 2005: Arab Summit on 3 August President Hosni Mubarak today called today for an extraordinary Arab summit to be held in Sharm al-Shaikh on 3 August, just days after the attacks in Sharm El-Sheikh "I call for an extraordinary Arab summit on Wednesday 3 August in Sharm al-Shaikh, which will be preceded by a meeting of Arab foreign ministers ... with a view to reviewing the situation in the Arab world," Mubarak said in a televised address on Thursday. Mubarak underscored the need to "formulate a common Arab vision" on the Palestinian and Iraq questions and "the many challenges that might drive the region to dangerous paths". Summit in the works Egypt is planning an Arab summit in hope of containing an explosive regional situation, Dina Ezzat reports On the eve of the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and at a time when violence in Baghdad is unabated, Cairo is supporting efforts of the Arab League to hold a summit -- one that may or may not include all 22 Arab states -- to forge rescue plans for Palestine and Iraq. The proposed Arab summit -- tentatively set for the second week of August -- is also to consider developments on the Lebanese-Syrian front as well as the situation in Sudan and Somalia. "There are efforts conducted by Cairo now to host a summit within a week or two," Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa said earlier in the week. Moussa, who met Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak late last week in Cairo, has been conducting intensive consultations with the current chair of the Arab summit, Algerian President Abdul-Aziz Boutaflika, and other Arab leaders to agree on a date, venue and above all agenda and potential outcome of the proposed summit. Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit is also working with Arab foreign ministers to work out a plan for the summit which sources suggest may take place early in the second week of August in Egypt. "So far we are working on having the summit in Cairo, at the International Conference Centre, but we may end up in Sharm El-Sheikh after all," commented an informed Egyptian source. Yesterday, Arab League Secretary- General Moussa said that Sharm El-Sheikh was a candidate venue for the summit. President Mubarak held intensive talks with other Arab leaders to sound out the plan and the likely outcome of the proposed summit. Arab diplomatic sources say it is the outcome, rather than the agenda, that still requires intense consultations to finalise before the summit can convene. As usual, different capitals expect the summit to produce different -- if not contradictory -- results. The Syrians want the summit to acknowledge Syrian efforts in Lebanon during the time of Syria's military presence and seeks solidarity in respect to the role and future of its Lebanese ally, Hizbullah. Damascus also wants Arab support against unending US pressure. The Palestinian Authority (PA) wants political and, most of all, financial support in the days and weeks that will follow the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. This support, Palestinian sources say, should include securing Israeli self-restraint in the case of possible attacks by Hamas or Islamic Jihad. Moreover, it should also include pressure -- political and financial -- on Hamas and Jihad to refrain from attacking Israeli targets during and after the withdrawal, so as to close the door to any potential Israeli re- occupation of Gaza. Furthermore, the PA wants Arab countries to garner US support for its demands to revitalise Gaza's harbour and airport, and to secure stable Gaza-West Bank access. The Iraqi government, for its part, is not particularly keen on the summit but is not opposed to it either. The administration in Baghdad is hoping that an Arab summit would secure the prompt engagement of Sunnis in the drafting of the constitution and subsequent elections processes. They also hope that an Arab summit would explicitly, in no uncertain language, commit all member states of the Arab League to establish diplomatic missions in Baghdad at the highest level possible, irrespective of the security hazards that have been demonstrated since the killing of the head of Egypt's diplomatic mission and the subsequent slaying of two Algerian diplomatic envoys in Iraq. "But beyond that, the Iraqi governments want Arab countries to stay away from its affairs," said one Cairo-based Arab diplomat. "They certainly do not want to be preached at about the Arab identity of Iraq, and how to maintain it." So far, Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister Marwan Al-Maashar and Syrian Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Farouk Al-Sharaa have spoken in favour of the summit, with Amman garnering more enthusiasm. Other Arab capitals, including Algiers, are sending messages of encouragement. In a telephone interview with Al-Ahram Weekly, Abdul-Aziz Belkhadem, special advisor to the Algerian president, said that Boutaflika is working on the details of the summit with President Mubarak. "Obviously, the situation has declined a great deal since the regular Arab summit that convened in Algeria last March, and Arab leaders could well consult on how to deal with the disturbing developments, especially in Iraq and Palestine," Belkhadem said. However, he added that: "So far it has proven difficult to secure the presence of all Arab leaders at the summit, and we may have to settle for a limited Arab summit that brings together Egypt, Algeria and the immediate neighbours of Iraq and Palestine, since these are the hottest spots in the Arab world now." A decision on the scope of the summit will be decided with in the coming few days. The pundits of the Arab press, however, have cast doubts over the possible outcome of the proposed summit and argued that what the Arab world now so desperately needs is unity and consensus, and not summits and talking shops. However, Arab League sources stress that this is an extremely crucial moment for the Arab people. And, it merits serious planning on the part of Arab leaders. The last Arab summit convened in Algeria in March, Since 2001, Arab leaders have been meeting regularly for their top- level meetings in March.
