Permanent delegates at Arab League meet in Cairo

Permanent delegates at the Arab League met here on Wednesday to mainly discuss how to overhaul the pan-Arab bloc, and preparations and arrangements for a planned Arab summit in Kuwait. In a keynote speech at the meeting, Deputy Secretary-General of the Arab League Ambassador Ahmed bin Helli said the meeting is part of ongoing efforts to revamp the Arab League, adding that the league will partake in the oversight of parliamentary and presidential elections in eight Arab countries. He emphasized that the league is required to become an influential and effective body to lead common Arab action. On his part, Moroccan delegate at the league Mohamed Al-Almi, who chairs the current session, said the meeting is part of preparations for the coming Arab summit in Kuwait, which is expected to focus on more Arab cooperation and coordination and the Palestinian cause. This session comes at a time when the Palestinian issue witnesses a serious juncture against the backdrop of escalating Israeli practices undermining Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations, he said. He blasted such Israeli malpractices against Palestinians as a reflection of Israel's clear-cut and unequivocal opposition against the peace process by which the Arab world still abides as part of the Arab peace initiative. On Syria, he regretted that no solution appears to be in the offing for the three-year-long Syrian crisis.