Mauritania Participates in Arab States Extraordinary Summit
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation, and Mauritanians Abroad, Mr. Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, participated, on Monday in the meetings of the extraordinary summit of the League of Arab States at the ministerial level, held at the headquarters of the Secretariat General of the League in Cairo, at the request of the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to strengthen joint Arab action and insist on the Palestinian question.
At the opening meeting, the Minister delivered a speech in which he focused on the Palestinian cause, as a central issue, reaffirming our country’s constant position in this regard, which is to help and support the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people to dignity and sovereignty, within the framework of a state with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital, asking to adopt a unified position on the main issues and to overcome all circumstantial differences.
Here is the full text of the speech:
“Dear Chairman of the session, Brother Sameh Choukri, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the sisterly Arab Republic of Egypt,
Highnesses the Emirs,
Dear Ministers,
Mr. Secretary General of the League of Arab States,
Excellencies Ambassadors,
May the peace, the Mercy and the Blessing of Allah be upon you.
At the beginning of this speech, I am pleased to extend my thanks and express the assurances of my highest consideration to the brothers in the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan for their happy initiative to convene this meeting.
I would like also to thank the Ministers and the heads of delegations here present who were keen on responding to this invitation.
We all feel the responsibility towards our homeland, which is going through a difficult period, demanding the swift and serious handling of the various political, economic and security challenges that we face together to strengthen joint Arab action within a strong strategic framework, built upon increased efforts to bring together and unify positions on central issues, based on approaches that guide our relations within the Arab League with countries influential on the international scene and the rest of the neighboring countries of the Arab region, in addition to international and regional groups.
In this regard, I can only pay tribute to the considerable efforts made by the General Secretariat of the Arab League, under the leadership of His Excellency Mr. Ahmed Abou al-Ghait, in the service of the just causes of the Arab nation.
Highnesses the Emirs,
Ladies and gentlemen,
This session takes place in a particular Arab and international context, characterized by recent regional and international developments, which have had a profound impact on our common issues.
This obliges us to overcome all circumstantial differences and to create a climate of mutual understanding and harmony to realize the legitimate aspirations of our rising generations, in search of a promising future, in which security and prosperity prevail and where the values of fraternity, tolerance and love are consolidated.
Highnesses,
Ladies and gentlemen,
The Islamic Republic of Mauritania strongly supports all the paragraphs of the proposed draft resolution, particularly those relating to the Palestinian question.
In this regard, we reiterate our firm position supporting the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people to dignity and sovereignty within the framework of an independent state with with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital, as stipulated in the Arab peace initiative, in relevant international resolutions based on the land for peace principle.
An illegal blockade, an intensification of the settlement policy, attempts to Judaize Al-Quds Al-Sharif and continued attacks on Islamic holy sites are all systematic violations of international law and a real blow to efforts to revive the peace process.
In conclusion, I hope that our session will result in effective measures that can create new momentum to boost Arab security in the face of various emerging challenges. I wish our work to be crowned with success.
Thank you”.
On the sidelines of the meeting, the Minister held two meetings with Mr. Ahmed Abou Al-Ghait, Secretary General of the League of Arab States, and Mr. Cheikh Ahmed Nasser Mohamed Al-Soubah, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the brotherly state of Kuwait, with whom he discussed in detail the main Arab, regional and international issues of common interest.
The Minister was accompanied, during these meetings, by an important delegation comprising HE Mr. Weddadi Ould Sidi Heibe, Ambassador of Mauritania in Cairo and its permanent representative to the Arab League, Ambassador Mr. Sidi Mohamed Abdallahi, Political Advisor to the Minister and Mr. El-Alem Abdel Baghi, director of the Arab League and Islamic organizations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation, and Mauritanians abroad.