Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Monday, Oct 06, 2025

Sudan and Syria on top of summit agenda as Arab leaders gather in Jeddah

Sudan and Syria on top of summit agenda as Arab leaders gather in Jeddah

Pinning hope on Arab aspirations of greater unity and integration for the resolution of major crises in the region, Arab heads of state and government started arriving in Jeddah on Thursday to attend the 32nd ordinary session of the Arab League Council.
The crisis in Sudan, the Israeli-Palestine conflict, and Syria are on top of the agenda of Friday's summit, which is also witnessing Syria’s return to the 22-member bloc after a hiatus of 12 years.

The leaders who arrived in Jeddah on Thursday included Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Paletinian President Mahmoud Abbas, King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa of Bahrain, and Chairman of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council Rashad Muhammad Al-Alimi.

The Syrian Presidency announced on Thursday that President Bashar al-Assad is heading for Jeddah to attend the summit. Al-Assad is attending the Arab summit for the first time in 12 years after his country was suspended from the Arab League in 2011 following the outbreak of the Syrian conflict. The Syrian delegation, headed by Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad, was attending the preparatory meeting of foreign ministers from Wednesday.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan has been receiving the high-level Arab delegations who are flocking to Jeddah to take part in the summit.

The Arab foreign ministers resumed the second day of preparatory sessions on Thursday, finalizing the agenda of the summit and making finishing touches to the draft resolutions, prior to their presentation at the summit. They stressed the importance of a ceasefire in Sudan to ensure the safety of its citizens and called for the crisis to be treated as an internal matter.

Saudi Arabia took over the rotating presidency of the Arab League summit as Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf handed over the presidency to Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan on Wednesday.

In his presidential address, Prince Faisal bin Farhan underscored the need for unity among Arab countries in order to overcome common problems and difficulties as well as to confront major global challenges. The foreign minister welcomed the Arab delegations, especially the Syrian delegation. He emphasized that the world is going through "great challenges that warrant us to stand united to confront them".

In his speech, Secretary General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit affirmed that the Arab presence is full at the Jeddah summit, while welcoming Syria’s return to the Arab League. Aboul Gheit pointed out that there are positive indications from Iran and Turkey to stop their interference in the affairs of Arab countries.

The Kingdom’s hosting of the Arab summit comes as an extension of the paramount role of the Saudi leadership at the regional and international levels, and strengthening communications with leaders of the Arab countries. The 32nd session of the Arab Summit is being held at a time when the world are going through unprecedented circumstances in terms of regional and international crises and conflicts.

This necessitates the Arab countries to find mechanisms through which they can confront common challenges, enhance regional security and stability, and achieve well-being for their countries and peoples, by evolving mechanisms for political coordination under the umbrella of the Arab League, in addition to enhancing economic cooperation and advancing development in various fields that directly affect the Arab citizens.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Syria Holds First Elections Since Fall of Assad
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
×