Nouakchott — Arab foreign ministers vowed on Saturday to “defeat terrorism,” as they gathered for a regional summit just over a week after a truck attack in the French Riviera left 84 people dead.
In a statement, they also called for a “definitive solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as Arab League heads of state prepared to meet in the Mauritanian capital on Monday and Tuesday.
“We must defeat terrorism, it’s a priority,” Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said as the meeting began.
His Mauritanian counterpart Isselkou Ould Ahmed Izidbih called on Arab states to coordinate more closely with African nations in order to achieve this goal.
The ministers also agreed to support “all (initiatives) that can help to end the crises of the Arab world, especially the Syrian, Libyan and Yemeni conflicts,” a statement said.
And they welcomed a French and Egyptian initiative to help revive dormant Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi is expected to attend the upcoming summit.
Meanwhile, the Arab Quartet consisting of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt, as well as the Secretary General of the Arab League, held here its third meeting on the sidelines of the ministerial meeting in preparation of the Arab summit.
In a statement, the committee, chaired by UAE, said that the meeting discussed the crisis with Iran and ways of confronting its interference in the Arab countries’ domestic affairs.
The committee demanded Iran to desist from offering assistance to terror and subversive organizations and groups planning to disrupt the security and integrity of Arab countries.
The statement said that relations with Iran should be based on mutual respect, countries’ sovereignty and good neighborliness.
