TO ANALYSE
Arab League summit: beyond differences, a principle of "non-alignment" adopted
The Arab League summit was held on November 1 and 2 in Algiers.
At its conclusion, the leaders adopted the "Declaration of Algiers" and advocated a principle of "non-alignment" on the war in Ukraine.
© Fayçal Métaoui/RFI
Text by: RFI Follow
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During the Arab League summit, Arab leaders overcame their traditional differences and adopted, on Wednesday, November 2, a document, the "Algiers Declaration", which summarizes current concerns and contrasts with previous communiqués sanctioning Arab summits. .
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By Faycal Metaoui,
"
There were no reservations about what was decided
," said Egyptian Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Secretary General of the Arab League, during the final press conference of the
Arab Summit
at the International Conference Center ( CIC), west of Algiers.
"
A successful summit is one of renewal
," said
Ramtane Lamamra, Algerian Minister of Foreign Affairs
.
The Algiers summit was, according to Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, a stopover to "
strengthen solidarity and unify Arab ranks
".
17 heads of state and government attended this summit.
A level of representation hailed by the secretary general of the
Arab League
, despite the absence of the kings of Morocco and Saudi Arabia, Mohammed VI and Salman ben Abdelaziz al-Saud, as well as the president of the United Arab Emirates, Mohammed ben Zayed al-Nahyan.
In the declaration of November 2, 2022, there is less literature and pious wishes, even if the intentions are more present than the concrete actions.
"
The most important thing is to have the political will
", declared Ramtane Lamamra, qualifying the "Declaration of Algiers" as a "
measured and consensual
" document, obtained after hours of negotiations.
“
Arab solutions to Arab problems
”
In the text, we clearly evoke the crises which cross the Arab world and which the Arab League, bound by its own statutes, is struggling to resolve.
First there is Libya, a country divided between two camps since the
brutal fall of the regime of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011
.
All the leaders who spoke at the Algiers summit had a word or two for Libya with the wish to see this country, rich in hydrocarbons, break the deadlock.
They support efforts to "
end the Libyan crisis through a Libyan-Libyan solution that preserves Libya's unity and sovereignty
".
The "Algiers Declaration" covers the crisis in Syria, a country suspended from the Arab League since 2011. The Arab states intend to play a "
collective and leading role
" in efforts aimed "
to achieve a political solution to the
Syrian crisis
and dealing with all its consequences
", with a view to "
guaranteeing the unity and sovereignty of Syria
".
الدورة ال 31 لمجلس جامعة الدول العربية على مستوى القمة المنعقدة بالجزائر يومي الفاتح و الثاني ن? I'
#اعلان_الجزائر pic.twitter.com/DtWVXFKZEa
— Arab Summit Algiers 2022 القمة العربية الجزائر (@ArabSummitAlg22) November 2, 2022
The "Algiers Declaration" does not specify the mechanism to be activated to help put an end to a crisis which has taken on international dimensions with the involvement of Russia, Turkey, the United States and Iran in the dispute.
“
Foreign interference
” in the Arab region is however denounced in the same document.
The idea put forward is to find “
Arab solutions to Arab problems
”.
Cautious position on the war in Ukraine
Ahmed Aboul Gheit called for protecting
the "nation-state
" in the Arab region, threatened by "
external interventions
" as well as by "
terrorism and militias
".
He also spoke of a new approach on "
common Arab security
" which takes into account "
food, water, health and energy security
".
Egypt and Sudan have asked for "
Arab support
" in their conflict with Ethiopia over the
sharing of the Nile waters
and the commissioning of the Renaissance dam.
The repercussions of the
war in Ukraine
were mentioned by most Arab leaders, in particular with regard to “
food security
” in the region.
Arab countries, such as Algeria, Morocco and Egypt, are major importers of cereals and fertilizers from Russia and Ukraine.
This
dependence
was underlined by the economic experts, meeting in Algiers.
It probably motivates the decision of the Arab countries to adopt a cautious position with regard to the war in Ukraine and its implications.
Arab countries highlight "
principles of non-alignment
" and believe that the common Arab position on the war in Ukraine is based on "
renouncing the use of force and supporting the option of peace
" .
They say they support "
a political solution
" to the crisis in Ukraine, "
in accordance with the principles of the Charter of the United Nations
", and "
taking into account the security concerns of the parties concerned
".
Behind the scenes of the Algiers summit, it is recalled that the international community did not adopt the same position of denunciation when the United States decided to
invade Iraq in 2003
.
In a message to the Algiers summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin called on Arab leaders to help "
establish a multipolar world regime
".
Participate in "
defining the contours of a new world order
"
If Algerian President
Abdelmadjid Tebboune
has proposed the creation
of “an Arab economic bloc
”, the “Algiers Declaration” affirms the importance of the participation of Arab countries “
in defining the contours of the new post-Covid world order. 19 and war in Ukraine, as a harmonized and united block
” and “
as an actor who can, with his will, his capacities and his skills, contribute effectively and positively in this field
”.
In the "Algiers Declaration" adopted by the Arab League on November 2, 2022, the leaders put forward "the principles of non-alignment" on the war in Ukraine.
© Fayçal Métaoui/RFI
And as if to respond to American criticism of the decision of the OPEC+ alliance to reduce oil production, at the beginning of October 2022, Arab leaders welcomed and asked to promote the policy described as balanced adopted by the Organization of Oil Exporting Countries. Petroleum and its allies (OPEC+), "
in order to guarantee the stability of world energy markets and the sustainability of investments in this strategic sector within the framework of an economic approach ensuring the protection of the interests of both producing and consuming countries
".
Furthermore, the Arab leaders agreed on the need to create a nuclear-free zone free of weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East, "
in accordance with the agreed benchmarks, and to invite all parties concerned to join and implement the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), which remains the cornerstone of the global nuclear non-proliferation system
”.
A message addressed to Iran and Israel at the same time.
And in accordance with Algeria's wishes, Arab leaders have called for the relaunch of the Arab Peace Initiative, adopted at the Beirut summit in 2002, which advocates a two-state solution and "
the establishment of the Palestinian state ".
of the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital
", as the Algerian Head of State pointed out.
Finally, and in solidarity with Doha after the recent criticisms that have targeted it, the Arab leaders announce their support for the State of Qatar which is preparing to host the
2022 FIFA World Cup
and say they have their "
full confidence
" in its ability "
to organize a remarkable edition of this international event
".
They condemn "
defamatory campaigns
" against this Gulf emirate.
Qatar has been criticized in particular for
the "bad treatment
" of
migrant workers
.
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Arab League
Algeria
Egypt
Libya
Syria
Qatar
Russia
United States
Ukraine
Morocco
Sudan
Ethiopia
Iran
Iraq
Muammar Gaddafi
Mohammad VI
Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud
Mohammad bin Zayed
United Arab Emirates