United in purpose

His Majesty King Abdullah has held a tripartite summit in New York with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi and Iraqi President Burham Saleh with a view towards consolidating relations between the three Arab countries at a time when the region is witnessing an unusually high level of tensions both in the Arab Gulf and over the Palestinian  conflict.

 The summit was timely and necessitated by the events in the Middle East. The three leaders agreed on ways and means to bolster even further the already strong relations between them. 

The three Arab leaders issued a joint communique at the end of their meeting emphasising the urgent need to strengthen the already strong relations between them. The joint communique spoke of the importance of rejecting any attempt by Israel to annex any part of the Palestinian territories, especially given Israel’s designs on new areas in the West Bank. 

The three leaders reaffirmed that the only viable solution for the Palestinian conflict is the establishment of a free and independent Palestinian state in the West Bank with East Jerusalem as its capital. No doubt, the three Arab leaders wanted to send a new message to Israeli leaders about where they stand. 

The communique also touched on the stronger economic ties and relations between the three Arab countries. The three Arab countries have already embarked on strengthening economic relations, but they wanted these relations to be even more robust, especially on the energy front. 

The fact that the three Arab leaders held their summit in New York on the eve of the 74th  session of the UN General Assembly aimed also to send a clear signal to the international community that they are united in purpose. 

No doubt the world was listening to what has emerged from the Arab summit and will act accordingly. If the UN fails to take on board the resolutions of the Arab summit , it would be at its own peril, pure and simple.