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Half of Arab leaders did not attend Arab-European summit in Egypt

February 25, 2019 at 11:57 am

President of the European Council, Donald Tusk (L2), Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi (C), Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud (R2), Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit (R) attend the EU-Arab League summit held under the theme “Investing in Stability” on 24 February 2019 in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt. [Bandar Algaloud / Saudi Kingdom Council / Handout – Anadolu Agency]

Only 11 of 22 Arab leaders attended the Arab-European summit yesterday in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh, Arabi21 reported.

To be held over two days, the summit will discuss the reinforcement of the Arab-European partnership and ways to jointly face global challenges including “terrorism and illegal immigration”.

In a statement, the Egyptian foreign ministry said that the summit is being held under the slogan of “investment in stability”, noting it would concentrate on how to stabilise the region, how to deal with the dangers of terrorism, the peace process, illegal immigration and the refugee crisis to Europe.

The EU said in a statement that the aims of the summit are to reinforce joint relations, push forward trade and investment, discuss joint concerns about immigration, security and the situation in the region.

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