The State of Qatar presided over the 155th session of the Council of the Arab League at the level of permanent delegates, which began at the headquarters of the League’s General Secretariat yesterday.

Qatar’s Permanent Representative to the Arab League H E Ambassador Ibrahim bin Abdulaziz Al Sahlawi represented the State of Qatar in the meeting. In a speech after assuming the presidency of the session, the Ambassador said that the State of Qatar, which holds the presidency of the new session of the Council, affirms its continuous keenness to cooperate closely with all to promote joint Arab action and serve its objectives and that it will spare no effort in seeking to activate resolutions that will develop and strengthen Arab cooperation in all fields in order to achieve the aspirations of the Arab peoples for prosperity and stability. He explained that the important political, security, and economic issues on the agenda require all of us to strive towards developing collective positions towards them, in a manner that preserves the common Arab interests and fulfills the aspirations of the peoples for security, stability, and prosperity.

He expressed his confidence that everyone is determined to improve to the joint Arab action, and strive towards overcoming and removing all obstacles that prevent its development in a way that achieves the higher common interests of Arab countries and benefits their peoples. A draft agenda is scheduled to be discussed during this session in preparation for its submission to the meetings of the Council at the ministerial level, under the chairmanship of the State of Qatar, which are scheduled to be held on Wednesday.

The draft agenda includes a number of topics, the most important of which are the Palestinian cause, developments in Syria and Yemen, the latest developments in Libya, solidarity with the Republic of Lebanon, and the security of navigation and energy supplies in the Arab Gulf region. The draft agenda also includes topics related to support for peace and development in the Republic of Sudan, support for the Federal Republic of Somalia, support for the United Republic of Comoros, the process of Arab-African cooperation and Arab-European dialogue. Other topics include Arab relations with international and regional groupings, cooperation between the Arab League, the United Nations and other international organizations, support for internally displaced people in Arab countries, Iraqi displaced persons in particular, and the draft strategy of the Arab Women Mediators Network.