Arab League: Date of Algiers Arab Summit Missing Starting Date

Arab League Assistant Secretary-General ambassador Hossam Zaki during a press conference in Algiers on Wednesday, January 19, 2022. (Algerian media)
Arab League Assistant Secretary-General ambassador Hossam Zaki during a press conference in Algiers on Wednesday, January 19, 2022. (Algerian media)
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Arab League: Date of Algiers Arab Summit Missing Starting Date

Arab League Assistant Secretary-General ambassador Hossam Zaki during a press conference in Algiers on Wednesday, January 19, 2022. (Algerian media)
Arab League Assistant Secretary-General ambassador Hossam Zaki during a press conference in Algiers on Wednesday, January 19, 2022. (Algerian media)

Arab League Assistant Secretary-General Ambassador Hossam Zaki said the date of the Arab summit scheduled to be held in Algeria hasn’t been determined yet.

“The date of the summit will be specified based on consultations between the host country and the rest of the member states,” Zaki told a press conference, noting that it will be held following the holy month of Ramadan.

He affirmed Algeria’s preparedness to host this major event, adding that it is sharing all its arrangements with the Arab League.

Zaki also touched on attempts to achieve Arab reconciliation and reunification, noting that it depends on the success of the preliminary consultations and dialogues.

Officials from the Algerian Foreign Ministry discussed on Wednesday with an Arab League delegation, headed by Zaki, the logistical and organizational preparations for the upcoming Arab summit, expected to be held in March.

“In preparation for hosting the upcoming Arab summit in Algeria, a coordination meeting was held at the headquarters of the foreign ministry, co-chaired by Ambassador Nor-Eddine Aouam, the Special Envoy in charge of the Palestinian cause, the Middle East and Libya, and Zaki, who was accompanied by high-ranking delegation from the AL General Secretariat,” read a foreign ministry statement.

The visiting delegation’s agenda includes holding coordination meetings with the subcommittees emanating from the National Committee charged with preparing and organizing for the next Arab Summit, in addition to visits to several establishments and facilities that will host the work of the Arab League Council at the summit level and its preceding preparatory meetings.

The delegation arrived in Algiers on Monday to meet with representatives of the National Committee charged with preparing for the summit.



Sistani Calls for Limiting Possession of Weapons to the Iraqi State

This handout picture released by the media office of Iraq's top Shiite authority Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani shows him (L) during a meeting with the new representative of the United Nations secretary general for Iraq and head of the UN Assistance Mission to the country (UNAMI), Mohamed al-Hassan of Oman (C), in the central Iraqi city of Najaf on November 4, 2024. (Photo by Sistani's Media Office / AFP)
This handout picture released by the media office of Iraq's top Shiite authority Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani shows him (L) during a meeting with the new representative of the United Nations secretary general for Iraq and head of the UN Assistance Mission to the country (UNAMI), Mohamed al-Hassan of Oman (C), in the central Iraqi city of Najaf on November 4, 2024. (Photo by Sistani's Media Office / AFP)
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Sistani Calls for Limiting Possession of Weapons to the Iraqi State

This handout picture released by the media office of Iraq's top Shiite authority Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani shows him (L) during a meeting with the new representative of the United Nations secretary general for Iraq and head of the UN Assistance Mission to the country (UNAMI), Mohamed al-Hassan of Oman (C), in the central Iraqi city of Najaf on November 4, 2024. (Photo by Sistani's Media Office / AFP)
This handout picture released by the media office of Iraq's top Shiite authority Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani shows him (L) during a meeting with the new representative of the United Nations secretary general for Iraq and head of the UN Assistance Mission to the country (UNAMI), Mohamed al-Hassan of Oman (C), in the central Iraqi city of Najaf on November 4, 2024. (Photo by Sistani's Media Office / AFP)

Iraq's top Shiite authority Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani announced seven factors that would achieve Iraq’s stability.

He made his remarks shortly after Israeli television reported that he was among a list of assassination targets alongside leader of the Houthis in Yemen Abdulmalek al-Houthi, Lebanon’s Hezbollah Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem, commander of Iran’s Quds Forces Esmail Qaani and Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

Sistani received on Monday new representative of the United Nations secretary-general and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) Dr. Mohamed al-Hassan of Oman.

A statement from Sistani’s office called on Iraqis to “derive lessons from the past and to work tirelessly to overcome setbacks and work on building a better future where everyone can live in security, stability and prosperity.”

Sistani has since 2015 been refusing to meet with Iraqi officials in protest over rampant corruption in the country and over how his recommendations have been ignored.

Overcoming corruption demands drafting a practical plan to run the country that relies on competency and integrity and that prevents foreign meddling in Iraq, he added.

It also called for imposing the rule of law and limiting the possession of weapons to the state, he stressed.

“The Iraqis have a long path ahead of them,” he said.

The Iraqi government had protested against the Israeli assassination target list, specifically Sistani’s inclusion in it, calling on the international community to condemn attempts to attack figures who enjoy influence and international respect.

Sistani also said he was “deeply pained by the ongoing tragedies in Lebanon and Gaza,” noting that it was “deeply unfortunate” that the international community and its institutions “have been incapable of imposing effective solutions” to end them or at least protect civilians from Israel’s assaults.

For his part, al-Hassan said he reached an agreement with Sistani to bolster Iraq’s regional and international standing.