Riyadh Summit Ministerial Committee Begins Intl Tour from China to Mobilize Ceasefire Efforts in Gaza

The leaders of Arab and Islamic countries during the Riyadh summit last week. (Egyptian Presidency)

The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Monday that Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, and a number of his counterparts from Arab and Islamic countries, began an official tour of the permanent members of the Security Council to rally international positions in support for a ceasefire in Gaza.
The ministry added that the move comes on behalf of all member states of the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) towards an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, and with the aim of launching a serious and real political process to achieve a lasting and comprehensive peace in accordance with international references.
Prince Faisal bin Farhan had announced on Saturday the start of the work of the ministerial committee assigned by the Joint Arab-Islamic Summit, which was recently held in Riyadh. The committee includes the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Qatar, Türkiye, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Palestine, in addition to the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States and the Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
During a joint media briefing with Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Prince Faisal stressed the need for implementing “an immediate ceasefire, ending the suffering of the people of Gaza, and stopping the killing of civilians.”
According to observers, who spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat, the Saudi minister’s speech indicates that the tasks of the ministerial committee would focus primarily on pushing for a ceasefire.
Wide representation
Writer and political analyst Munif Al-Harbi said that the committee speaks on behalf of 57 Arab and Islamic countries, noting that member states have multiple relations with many regional and international powers, in addition to the presence of five Arab countries, namely Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and Palestine, which are directly concerned with the Palestinian issue.
In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Al-Harbi underlined the importance of focusing on the committee’s goals, which include, “creating an international movement for a ceasefire and launching a serious peace process.”
Al-Harbi pointed to a change in regional and international public opinion regarding the developments in Gaza.
“On Oct. 7, most international public opinion was supportive of Israel in an unprecedented way, especially Western countries, and after the Israeli operation in Gaza there was a clear change in Western official and popular positions... We saw, for example, a change in France’s position...” he remarked.
The first steps
The ministerial round is the first executive step of the decisions of the Joint Arab-Islamic Summit, which convened in Riyadh last week, where it was decided to assign the Saudi Foreign Minister, his counterparts in a number of countries, and the two organizations’ secretaries-general, to “take immediate action on behalf of all member states of the organization and the League to formulate international action in order to stop the war on Gaza.”
Political writer Ibrahim Rayhan told Asharq Al-Awsat: “This is the first time in decades that we have witnessed Arab and Islamic diplomatic action in this manner, led by Saudi Arabia, since the first day of the outbreak of the war on the Gaza Strip.”
He continued: “It is too early to talk about launching a political process to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict, as stopping the war takes precedence over the rest of the items at the present time.”