Arab-African Meeting Held in Cairo ahead of Riyadh Summit Next Month

The opening of the Fourth Africa-Arab Summit, Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, 23 November 2016. (African Union)
The opening of the Fourth Africa-Arab Summit, Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, 23 November 2016. (African Union)
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Arab-African Meeting Held in Cairo ahead of Riyadh Summit Next Month

The opening of the Fourth Africa-Arab Summit, Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, 23 November 2016. (African Union)
The opening of the Fourth Africa-Arab Summit, Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, 23 November 2016. (African Union)

An Arab League committee met in Cairo on Sunday to prepare for a congress of the Arab and African ministers of agriculture that will be held in Egypt on November 9 – 11.

The recommendations of the ministers’ meeting will be submitted to the Arab-African Summit, scheduled for Riyadh on November 25.

This is the forth meeting of the committee, which is attended by representatives from the Arab League, the African Union and Egypt, which hosts the summit of the Arab-African ministers of agriculture.

Following Sunday’s meeting, Ambassador Kamal Hassan Ali, Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Affairs at the Arab League, told reporters that participants discussed the technical papers that should be presented during the congress, adding that a fifth meeting will be held on November 3 for this end.

“The congress aims to boost cooperation between Africa and Arabs, particularly in the agricultural field, one of the main items on the agenda of next month’s Riyadh summit,” he added.

Asked whether the Arab League was satisfied with the progress of Arab-African cooperation after several meetings were held in this regard, he replied that efforts were ongoing to strengthen these ties, which he described as broad and wide-ranging.

On whether the current Israeli infiltration in Africa would have any negative impact on these relations, Ali stated: “Israel seeks such objectives, however, joint Arab-African joint cooperation will foil conspiracies plotted by any party.”



WHO: Crew Member Suffered Serious Injury in Yemen Airport Strike

A man walks past a damaged building of Sanaa Airport, one day after Israeli airstrikes hit the airport, in Sanaa, Yemen, December 27, 2024. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
A man walks past a damaged building of Sanaa Airport, one day after Israeli airstrikes hit the airport, in Sanaa, Yemen, December 27, 2024. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
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WHO: Crew Member Suffered Serious Injury in Yemen Airport Strike

A man walks past a damaged building of Sanaa Airport, one day after Israeli airstrikes hit the airport, in Sanaa, Yemen, December 27, 2024. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
A man walks past a damaged building of Sanaa Airport, one day after Israeli airstrikes hit the airport, in Sanaa, Yemen, December 27, 2024. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah

The UN air crew member hurt in an airstrike on Yemen's main international airport on Thursday suffered serious injuries but is now recovering in hospital, a spokesperson for the World Health Organization said on Friday.

Israel said it struck multiple targets linked to the Iran-aligned Houthi militias in Yemen, including Sanaa International Airport, and Houthi media said at least six people were killed.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was in the airport waiting to depart when the aerial bombardment took place and said that a member of his plane's crew was injured.

The injured man, who worked for the UN Humanitarian Air Service, had to be operated on, the WHO spokesperson said. He appeared to be recovering satisfactorily, the person added.

Tedros, who was in Yemen to negotiate the release of detained UN staff and to assess the humanitarian situation, would continue working in the country until his flight is able to depart, the WHO spokesperson said.

That could be on Friday, but no decision has yet been made, the WHO spokesperson said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview with Channel 14 that Israel was only at the beginning of its campaign against the Houthis. "We are just getting started with them," he said.