Government | Friday 31 May, 2019 3:02 am |

The Arab extraordinary summit started at Al-Safa Palace here this evening under the chairmanship of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
The leaders and heads of delegations of Arab countries were received by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense.
Following the reception ceremony, the Arab extraordinary summit was opened with a recitation of verses from the Holy Quran.

For his part, President Mohamed Beji Caid Essebsi of the Republic of Tunisia, chairman of the 30th ordinary round of the Arab summit which was held in Tunis, delivered a speech at the outset of the extraordinary meeting in which he thanked the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques for his initiative to convene an extraordinary Arab summit, reflecting the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's care of the Arab interests.
He said the Arab summit reflects Saudi Arabia's special interest and pioneering role in the service of the Arab issues, and embodies the deep-rooted ties binding all Arab countries and peoples, creating a common factor for them to share enhancing their well-being and preserve their security and stability.
The critical situations facing our region, including the dangerous and accelerating developments, require a joint and deep assessment of the challenges as well as the orientation and type of threat that target the fundamentals of the Arab national security in a way that helps us to determine the best ways to cope with them and prevent their spread and, accordingly, preserve the nation's security and stability amid the current crises and high cost at the security, developmental, social and humanitarian levels as it is inacceptable to drag our peoples towards new chapter of tension and instability at the expense of their right to enjoy good and peaceful living, Essebsi said.
He cited the Palestinian cause as one of the first priorities, among other crises and issues of the region, that require exerting efforts to evade the region more instability, calling for reaching a just and comprehensive solution of the problem according to the world references agreed upon as well as the Arab peace initiative.
He condemned targeting Saudi peaceful cities of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as well as commercial vessels sailing near the territorial waters of the UAE.
Then, he handed over the chairmanship of the meeting to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.