His Majesty King Abdullah returned home from Riyadh on Tuesday after participating in the third Arab Economic and Social Development Summit.

At the conclusion of the summit, Arab leaders pledged to remove obstacles to a free trade zone this year and agreed to facilitate capital flows.

“We stress our determination to complete all the prerequisites for establishing the free trade area before the end of this year,” Arab League secretary general Nabil El Araby said at the end of the summit.

The leaders, he added, were determined to clear obstacles to “achieve the Arab customs union fully by 2015.”

On the sidelines of the summit, King Abdullah met with several Arab leaders on Monday and discussed ways to develop Arab cooperation.

Talks addressed ways to boost bilateral relations as well as the latest regional developments, especially the situation in Syria and Middle East peace efforts.

The King met with Bahrain’s King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati.