President Sisi returns Cairo after participating at 31st Arab Summit

CAIRO – 2 November 2022:  President Abdel Fattah El Sisi returned Egypt on Wednesday after taking part in the 31st Arab summit that was held in Algeria, presidential spokesman Bassam Radi said.

In his speech at the summit, Sisi echoed the hopes of the Arab people for a united bloc that can face political and economic challenges.

The Arab League Summit is an opportunity to summon Arab nationalism and the history of cooperation that redressed those who were wronged and restored stability, as the Arab populations are wondering whatever is holding our nations back from integration and from catching up with the more advanced countries despite our huge assets, Sisi said.

Our history proves that whatever pains our brothers in the Maghreb will expand to Egypt, the Mashriq, and Gulf states. Instability in the Mashriq and Palestine will have its ramifications on the Maghreb. And any threats to the Gulf is a threat to us all. The Arab national security is an indivisible whole,” the Egyptian president added.

Arab nations need to adopt an approach that both entrenches the concept of Arab nationalism and the concept of a national state of strong institutions, he continued.

Sisi elaborated that a national state is one that respects citizenship, human rights, and tolerance. Meanwhile, terrorist organizations and armed militias must be eliminated and any attempts to give them power or use them to give a foreign country power inside the Arab world must be prevented.

The Algiers Declaration affirmed at the conclusion of the 31st Arab Summit rejection of foreign interference - in all its forms - in the Arab countries’ internal affairs, while adhering to the principle of finding Arab solutions to Arab problems via strengthening the Arab League’s role in preventing crises, resolving them by peaceful means, and promoting inter-Arab relations.

The declaration has stressed the centrality of the Palestinian cause for the Arab world, the importance of joint Arab action, and its sticking to the Arab Peace Initiative as a strategic solution to end the Israeli occupation.

The Algiers Declaration, issued at the conclusion of the 31st ordinary Arab summit, affirmed the centrality of the Palestinian cause and reiterated absolute support for the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including their right to gain their freedom, self-determination, and set up an independent state within the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The 31st Arab Summit kicked off in Algeria on Tuesday with the participation of several leaders and presidents along with the UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Chairperson of the African Union Commission Moussa Faki.