Preparatory meetings for Arab League held in Jeddah, Syria attended

• 

In preparation for the meeting for the work of the Arab League summit, a meeting of delegates and senior officials was held today in Jeddah with the participation of a Syrian delegation headed by Assistant Foreign Minister Ayman Sousan.

Upon assuming the presidency of the meeting, the Undersecretary of the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Abd Al-Rahman Ibrahim Al-Rassi welcomed the Syrian delegation participating in the meeting and wished them every success.

"Saudi Arabia extended its hand to the brothers in belief in the importance of joint Arab action and will continue to work to follow up on this matter and to continue in the Arab League's path," the US diplomat said.

Meanwhile, Oman's permanent representative at the Arab League, Abdullah bin Nasser Al-Rahbi, said Syria's presence in meetings of the Arab League gives strength to Arab solidarity.

For his part, the permanent representative of the Comoros Islands to the Arab League, Atta Effendi, said Syria's presence at the Arab League "carries great importance in this summit on the course of joint Arab action because it is of general benefit to all Arab countries."

A Syrian delegation led by Economy Minister Mohammad Samer Khalil landed in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah ahead of the upcoming Arab League Summit, which is set to take place sometime next week, a source told Russian news agency Sputnik on Sunday.

Moreover, the delegation includes Presidential Affairs Minister Mansour Fadlallah Azzam and other Syrian officials and journalists, the source said.

The delegates were said to be there to attend preparatory meetings for the Arab League's Economic and Social Council, which is in charge of economic cooperation and integration within the bloc.

The Syrian presidency said Wednesday that Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad received an invitation to the upcoming Arab summit in Saudi Arabia, the first such invitation since the war on the country broke out.

The Arab League last Sunday welcomed Syria's government back into the bloc.

Read more: Syria Arab League readmission is in defiance of US warnings: Bloomberg

In a statement, the Syrian presidency announced that Al-Assad received an invitation from Saudi King Salman "to participate in the thirty-second Arab League summit, which will be held in Jeddah on May 19."

Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to Jordan, Nayef bin Bandar Al-Sudairi, delivered the invitation. The last Arab League summit that Al-Assad attended was in 2010 in Libya.

The Syrian President considered that the summit "will enhance joint Arab action to achieve the aspirations of the Arab peoples," the statement indicated.

The invitation came a day after Riyadh and Damascus announced that work would resume at their respective diplomatic missions in Syria and Saudi Arabia, after more than a decade of severed ties.

On the other hand, the United States and Britain said they still opposed relations with the Syrian government but would work with Arab states that are re-establishing relations.