The Arab summit ended, after “transparent” discussions among Arab leaders, with a series of recommendations and resolutions that, His Majesty King Abdullah said, “we will now make all efforts to translate ... into reality”.

Addressing the summit was also UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres whose speech gave hope that the entire West is not entirely oblivious to the serious issues facing the region and might work together with the Arabs to help solve them.

Guterres urged Arab leaders to shape “a new Arab world”, based on cooperation and dialogue, to address and resolve common challenges.

For, as he said, “divisions in the Arab world have opened the door to foreign intervention and manipulation, breeding instability, sectarian strife and terrorism.”

Reaching a good level of inter-Arab cooperation and dialogue has proved to be a challenge in itself in the course of time, but the summit may turn out to be the needed starting point to mend fences and bring Arabs closer together, now that they are aware of the meddling of so many regional and international powers in their affairs, interference that can only be stopped through a common front and purpose.

The UN chief mentioned the increasing prejudice harboured by the West against Arabs and Muslims, prejudice that should make the Arabs work hard to counter it, for, if not, it will present populists, on the grow now, with the opportunity to “present the despicable acts of Daesh or Al Qaeda as driven by Islam, when in fact they utterly defy the faith”, in the process playing into the hands of terrorist and extremist groups.

And since Muslims themselves are the primary victims of terrorism, it should be they who come together to defeat it.

Equally important were Guterres’ pronouncements vis-à-vis the Palestinian problem.

He said two states are the only solution, and “there is no plan B”.

Acknowledging the suffering, the “deep sense of despair of the Palestinian people”, he said Palestinians and Israelis need to work towards a “conflict resolution”, but on this matter, it is the UN that has the power to bring this long conflict to an end.

But will it?

The UN head also expressed hope that the search for a political solution to the Syrian crisis will come to fruition, welcomed the progress made by the Iraqi forces in retaking territory from Daesh, and, most importantly, highlighted the need to address youth unemployment.

People under the age of 30 form two-thirds of the population in the Arab world, “the highest share ever”, so “fighting youth unemployment must be the top priority from the point of view of not only development, but also security for communities in the region”, Guterres said.

In parallel, “the empowerment of women is especially crucial — as a matter of human rights and as a spur to human development”, he said.

Wise words that both the Arab world and the international community, including the organisation Guterres heads, should heed.

Only through international legitimacy can many problems plaguing the region be solved. And for that to be achieved, the UN has to have the courage to work impartially and assert the authority the world invested in and expects of it.