At the 27th Arab Summit

 

 

Prayers and peace be upon our Prophet Mohammad

 

Your Excellency, President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz,

Your Majesties, Highnesses, Excellencies,

Your Excellency Secretary General of the Arab League,

 

Peace, God’s mercy and blessings be upon you,

 

It is my pleasure to convey to my brother His Excellency President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz and his people my warmest thanks for hosting this summit and their warm welcome of us, and I also thank my brother His Excellency President Abdel Fattah El Sisi for hosting the previous summit. 

 

My thanks also go to the staff of the Arab League for their great efforts to ensure the success of this meeting.

 

I also congratulate His Excellency Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, the Arab League Secretary General, wishing him success in his new task and efforts to uplift the performance of the Arab League and its role in advancing joint Arab action. 

 

I should not forget, as we gather here, to commend the invaluable efforts of former Arab League Secretary General Nabil El Araby, and the continuous endeavours he undertook under critical and complicated circumstances.  

 

Your Majesties, Highnesses, Excellencies,

 

History has proven that joint Arab action is essential for the security and stability of our region, and the prosperity of our peoples. 

 

We have sought, for decades, to develop the joint Arab action and make a qualitative leap in the performance of pan-Arab institutions, hoping that this reform would lead to raising their achievements and empowering them to confront the massive challenges and play more effective roles in international arenas.

 

This reform is needed today more than ever; and it is time for the Arab League and its institutions to start a new era that reflects Arab peoples' hopes and aspirations.

 

Projects have been previously presented to enhance the Arab League Charter, develop the League’s councils, and set the framework for its decisions and implementation mechanisms, in addition to breathing new life into the concept of joint Arab defence. 

 

It is also important to revive these initiatives within a reform process that all Arab leaders agree upon, so that our action could meet the challenges, especially reform has become a major priority for our peoples that expect us to move forward with it. Our challenges are the same and our security and futures are connected, making joint Arab action indispensable.

 

The winds of terrorism that are blowing in our region do not recognise borders or nationalities. In fact, terrorists seek to distort the image of Islam and its message of tolerance; and the anti-terror fight is the fight of Muslims against the khawarej of this age. It is a war in defence of our faith and future. We can either confront terrorism as individual states, or we take the right decision and counter it collectively, taking a holistic approach. At the end of the day, there is no country that is immune against terrorism and its evils, and there is no single state that can face it in isolation of its regional and global environment.

 

At the time, we, as Arabs and Muslims, shoulder the responsibility and duty of leading the efforts against the khawarej, an advanced level of international coordination applying a holistic strategy is needed to confront this danger, whose consequences reach far beyond Syria and Iraq.

 

Accordingly, we have to emphasise the need to support the anti-terrorism efforts, especially in Iraq, Syria and Libya, to prevent terrorist groups from having a strong foothold in the region. In this context, we should point out the tremendous efforts being exerted in Iraq to fight and defeat the Daesh terrorist group, including the liberation of a number of Iraqi towns and regions.

 

Your Majesties, Highnesses, Excellencies,

 

Regarding the Syrian crisis, which has been ongoing for six years, and whose consequences have been mounting, affecting the region and the world, let alone the catastrophic situations under which Syrians are living, it should be emphasised that the longer this crisis lingers, the more Syrians will suffer, along with neighbouring countries that host the majority of the Syrian refugees. 

 

Jordan alone hosts 1.3 million Syrian refugees, despite the international failure to secure their needs and alleviate their suffering, as well as the pressure they place on host communities. Many of my people are suffering from this situation, which we can no longer withstand or continue to accept. 

 

As we stress on the inevitability of an inclusive political solution, which ensures the participation of all the components of the Syrian population, I would like here to commend the tremendous efforts that have been and are being exerted by the sisterly Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, under the leadership of my brother, the Custodian of the Two Holy Shrines King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, to unify the ranks of the Syrian opposition and form its negotiating delegation, in addition to its efforts to bring about a political solution that ends the suffering of the Syrians and ensures the unity of their lands. 

 

Your Majesties, Highnesses, Excellencies,

 

In spite of the complex issues that are overwhelming our region and the shift in priorities, the Palestinian issue remains our central cause and the primary challenge in the Middle East.

 

While the world is preoccupied with the issues and conflicts we are witnessing, Israeli is taking advantage of the situation to continue its aggression against the Palestinian people, through settlement expansion, attempts to change the status quo in the occupied territories, and repeated attacks on Muslim and Christian Holy Sites in Jerusalem. Such policies hinder the efforts to resume peace negotiations and enable terrorist groups to take advantage of the Palestinian people’s suffering and their just cause to promote their wrongful and misleading goals.   

 

Your Majesties, Highnesses, Excellencies,

 

In accordance with the Hashemite custodianship over Jerusalem’s Holy Sites, and in coordination with my brother His Excellency Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and our brothers in Palestine, we affirm our commitment to carrying out our religious and historical duty in protecting the Holy Sites in Jerusalem and standing up to Israeli violations, especially those targeting Al Aqsa Mosque and Al Haram Al Sharif, using all available means.

 

The time has come for the world to realise that without a just and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian issue, this region will not enjoy stability. The international community must shoulder its moral and legal responsibilities and work on coercing Israel to cease its illegal policies and practices, particularly those to do with settlements and its attempts to change the status quo. The international community must ensure the resumption of negotiations, arriving at a just, comprehensive and lasting solution to the Palestinian issue, based on the two-state formula and in accordance with relevant international resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative, leading to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the June 4, 1967 lines.

 

Your Majesties, Highnesses, Excellencies,

 

On a different note, we commend the efforts of my brother His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, the Amir of Kuwait, in hosting the Yemeni peace negotiations. We also reaffirm our full support for the legitimacy in Yemen, represented by His Excellency President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, and for the Arab coalition and its efforts to shore up legitimacy and restore security and stability in Yemen, ensuring the unity of its lands.

 

Your Majesties, Highnesses, Excellencies,

 

Jordan has always been a strong supporter of Arab and Islamic causes, and has dedicated all its efforts to defend them in words and in deeds; for our security is one. We will also continue to uphold our nationalistic and humanitarian duty towards our nation and our refugee brothers, despite the great pressures on our resources and capabilities. It also behoves me to thank our friends and brothers who have extended a helping hand to us.

 

Finally, I must again thank my brother, His Excellency Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, and the government of Mauritania for hosting this summit and working to ensure its success, and I pray that God would bring success to our Umma and our peoples.

 

Peace, God’s mercy and blessings be upon you.