Arab leaders are charging to cement a united stand to avoid losing any kind of control over the region's future. Nevine Khalil reports from Marrakech on President Mubarak's visits to Morocco, Tunisia, and Libya Click to view caption After intense contacts in recent weeks with American and European players about the standoff between the US and Iraq, Cairo shifted its focus to developing a united Arab vision for the immediate future of the region. While action on Iraq was being debated by the UN Security Council, Arab leaders and diplomats are dedicating greater attention to the Palestinian issue and Israel's continued policies of aggression which had brought the peace process to a total halt for more than two years. Following a three-day visit to Morocco, President Hosni Mubarak arrived in Tunisia yesterday to hold talks with Arab leaders and their representatives that began earlier in the week. According to various Arab diplomatic sources, a meeting of Arab foreign ministers is in the works at which they are to take stock of the latest developments and work on closing Arab ranks. In a joint statement issued after nearly two hours of talks in Marrakech on Tuesday, Mubarak and Morocco's King Mohamed VI emphasised the importance of "continued consultation in order to activate Arab solidarity and bring about stability in the Arab world". In an interview with Moroccan television on the same day, Mubarak said, "the Arabs will only be able to strengthen their position through coordinating on their interests. Arab economic unity is the strongest bond for cementing Arab unity." Moroccan Foreign Minister Mohamed Bin Eissa said that Rabat and Cairo are "trying to translate joint Arab efforts into action", adding, "We need to arrive at a joint vision of how to protect our interests, because we allow many opportunities to pass us by." It appears that Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi's request to withdraw his country from the Arab League, because of the body's ineffectiveness in securing and protecting Arab rights, was a wake-up call for many in the region. Mubarak and Mohamed VI discussed Gaddafi's withdrawal request and both expressed hope that the action would be avoided. Mubarak is expected to meet Gaddafi today on his way back to Egypt. "For us, this request is a call to the Arab nation to take strong, united stands to support Arab issues," said Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher. "And we agree with Libya completely." Soon after meeting with Mubarak on Sunday, Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal told reporters that for both Egypt and Saudi Arabia "there is a sense that there is a degree of Arab ineptitude in dealing with issues confronting the Arab nation -- something that is in stark contrast with Arab capabilities." Talks with Al-Faisal were part of a series of meetings which Mubarak held in Cairo on the eve of his Morocco trip. Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri also met with Mubarak on Sunday, and told reporters, "The key to any serious work is Arab solidarity," and this should begin with economic integration and cooperation. Like Al- Faisal, Berri was critical of the state of Arab cooperation, saying that the Arabs were mostly talk and little action. "As Arabs, we are satisfied with taking decisions only," he said. Mubarak also held talks with Jordanian Prime Minister Ali Abu Ragheb, Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al- Khalifa, as well as head of Qatar's National Council for Culture, Art and Heritage Saud Bin Mohamed Al-Than, to discuss tensions in the region. During discussions with Russia's Special Envoy to the Middle East Adrei Vdovin on the same day, Mubarak was briefed on the activities of the diplomatic Quartet, which brings together representatives of the US, EU, Russia and UN, with the aim of finalising a roadmap to end the violence between the Palestinians and Israelis. Vdovin described the situation in the Middle East as "explosive", and hence the need for the parties to return to the negotiating table. The Quartet is scheduled to meet soon at the level of foreign ministers to finalise the roadmap. In Marrakech, Mubarak and Mohamed VI discussed the proposed roadmap and how progress can be made. "We want guarantees that what is agreed on will be implemented," stressed Maher, while Mubarak's chief political adviser Osama El-Baz said that Cairo welcomed the roadmap -- which is mostly based on American ideas. El-Baz applauded the fact that the proposal was "based on UN resolutions, would result in a Palestinian state, acknowledges that the conflict is caused by Israeli occupation of Arab land, and that it requires progress on the remaining Arab tracks" -- Syria and Lebanon, that is. At the same time, however, there are negative elements in the proposal, continued El-Baz, pointing out that it "insists on changing the current Palestinian leadership and that commitments for both sides are not moving at the same pace." In their joint statement, Mubarak and Mohamed VI expressed their deep concern over Israel's continued escalation of violence "which aims to destroy the basis of peace and abort all initiatives to relaunch the peace process." They called on the international community, and the permanent members of the UN Security Council, in particular, to "shoulder their responsibility in protecting the Palestinian people and making the Israeli government stop its military operations as well as accepting the choices of the Palestinian people". The two leaders want to see the Palestinians and Israelis back at the negotiating table on the basis of the land- for-peace formula, Security Council resolutions, the Arab peace initiative and all agreements previously signed by the two sides. They believe that the Jerusalem Committee, which was created in 1979 under the auspices of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) and is chaired by King Mohamed VI, plays a "valuable role in protecting the Arab and Muslim identity of Jerusalem". At the same time, they rejected any measures which would "affect the legal status of this Holy City," the statement added. On the issue of Iraq, the two leaders want a "peaceful resolution for the problem within the framework of the UN," said Maher. "Commitment to UN resolutions is vital." In the joint statement, Mubarak and Mohamed VI reiterated their support for Baghdad's position of unconditionally allowing UN inspectors back into Iraq, and hoped that the Iraqi leadership would continue to be cooperative and compliant with UN Security Council resolutions. They emphasised their determination for an independent, sovereign and united Iraq, and expressed hope that the return of the weapons inspectors would be "a step paving the way for a peaceful settlement of the current crisis, ending tensions and averting the dangers of instability in the region." El-Baz counselled that "the more transparent Iraq is about implementing UN Security Council resolutions, the more it will undermine any plans to carry out military strikes against it." At the same time, Baghdad should "reassure its Arab neighbours that it has no expansionist schemes or hostile intentions", El-Baz added.
