Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques put Arab leaders in Kuwait summit on path of reconciliation

King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz warns against attempts to divide Arab ranks

Arab leaders stress just peace, Palestinian rights, reform

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques donates $1 billion to reconstruct Gaza

Arab Leaders began in Kuwait on Tuesday their economic summit, where the Saudi delegation was led by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz.

Speaking at the inaugural session, Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah hoped that the summit would yield positive results and meet the aspirations of the Arab nation.

He hoped that the summit would be a beginning for a new style and organized joint Arab work for confronting the challenges.

He prayed to Allah Almighty to give mercy to the martyrs of Gaza and saluted the stubborn resistance of the Palestinian people and their adherence to their right to establish their independent state.

The Kuwaiti Emir said the Israeli aggression constitutes one of the war crimes which are prohibited by the human law and it is viewed as a flagrant violation to the human rights.

Then, speeches were delivered by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Egyptian President Mohammad Hosni Mubarak, Secretary General of the Arab League Amr Moussa, Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon, Senegalese President and Chairman of the Current Summit of the Organization of Islamic Conference Abdullah Wad and Head of the African Union Commission John Bing.

Then, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz delivered a speech. Following is the text of the speech:

"In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate. Praise be to Allah, prayer and peace be upon the last of Prophets and Messengers.

Your Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, the Emir of the State of Kuwait, Chairman of the Summit, Honorable audience, Peace and Allah's mercy and blessings be upon you.

We and the peoples of the Arab nation hope that, Allah willing, this economic summit will produce clear results, promising a future of security and prosperity for every Arab and Muslim across the world.

But, whatever the importance of the economy might be, it can neither equal life itself nor dignity without which life is not worth living. We have witnessed over the past days bloody, painful and brutal scenes and genocide being carried out by a criminal, inhuman, and merciless gang as the world listened and watched. The murderers and their supporters forgot that the Torah said "an eye for an eye"; the Torah did not say "an eye for the eyes of a whole town."

Israel must realize that the choice between peace and war will not be available all the time, and that the Arab Initiative on the table today will not be on the table for ever.

Dear brothers, we salute Gaza's martyrs, heroes, and steadfast resistance, and salute those who exerted efforts and thoughts to stem the bloodshed, especially our brothers in Egypt under the leadership of our brother President Hosni Mubarak.

Here, honesty entails that we say to our brothers in Palestine that their division is more dangerous to their cause than the Israeli aggression and I would like to remind them of the fact that Allah has linked victory to unity and defeat to dispute when he said "And hold fast all together by the Rope which Allah (stretches out for you), and be not divided among yourselves."

My brothers, leaders of the Arab states…

I have to be candid and honest with myself and you, and say that our political disputes have led us to division and dispersion of our will. These disputes have helped and are still helping our treacherous Israeli enemy and whoever seeks to sow division of the Arab ranks and take full advantage of promoting his regional goals at the expense of our unity, dignity and aspirations.

We, leaders of Arab states, with no exception of any of us, are fully responsible for the current weakness in our position. I plead to you in the name of Allah and then in the name the martyrs, children, women and men; in the name of the blood unjustly shed in Palestine, in the name of dignity, in the name of our peoples who have despaired; I plead to you to overcome our wounds and divisions and to discredit our enemy's opinions about us and to take up a dignified position which history will not forget and of which our nation will be proud.

Hence, allow me to announce on behalf of all of us that we have passed over our division and that we have opened the door for an Arab fraternity and unity for all Arabs with no exception or reservation and that we will face the future renouncing our differences as one solid cemented structure, holding fast to the Holy verse "Fall into no dispute, Lest ye lose heart and your power depart".

Dear brothers, before I conclude my speech, and on behalf of your brothers the people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, I announce the contribution of USD1000 million to the summit-proposed Gaza reconstruction program, realizing at the same time that a single drop of Palestinian blood is far more precious than the treasures of the earth.

May God's peace and blessings be upon you all".

Then, the Emir of Kuwait and head of the summit hailed the contents of the speech by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz which contained initiatives boosting the Arab solidarity, calling for ending differences and opening the door of Arab fraternity and unity to all Arabs.

Then, a speech was delivered by President of the World Bank Group Robert Zoellick, who said that the World Bank is working with the Arab, Islamic and regional development funds and banks on the imitative of energy for the poor which was launched by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz in the middle of last year to help poor countries.

Zoellick hailed the generous contribution of USD500 million provided by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the World Food Program.

Then, Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Kuwait Ali Mohammad Alghanim delivered a speech on the occasion.

Then, the opening session of the summit was adjourned after approving the first item on the agenda of the summit concerning the discussion of the situation in Gaza.

The official delegation participating in the opening session included Prince Saud Alfaisal, the Foreign Minister, Prince Abdulilah bin Abdulaziz, Advisor to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, Prince Miqrin bin Abdulaziz, Chief of General Intelligence, Prince Faisal bin Abdullah bin Mohammad Al Saud, Assistant Chief of General Intelligence, Prince Abdulaziz bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, Advisor to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, Prince Mansoor bin Nasir bin Abdulaziz, Advisor to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, Prince Dr. Bandar bin Salman bin Mohammad Al Saud, Advisor to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, Prince Mansoor bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, Minister of State and Member of the Cabinet Dr. Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Alkhwaitir, Minister of Labor Dr. Ghazi bin Abdulrahman Alqusaibi, Minister of Finance Dr. Ibrahim bin Abdulaziz Ala'ssaf and Minister of Culture and Information Iyad bin Amin Madani.

The Arab Economic, Social and Development Summit (Summit of Solidarity with the Palestinian People in Gaza) issued the "Kuwait Declaration".

The Declaration was announced at the summit's closing session by Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa.

"Kuwait Declaration" underscored the importance of elevating the standard of living for Arab citizens, granting priority to joint Arab investments, and allowing for greater participation of the private sector and civil societies in economic and social development.

The declaration gave priority to joint Arab investments, granting more opportunity for the participation of the private sector and civil societies in social and economic growth and in supporting infrastructure projects, developing the production, commerce and service sectors, as well as social projects, environmental protection, electricity and railway linkage, water and food security, all with the aim of achieving Arab economic integration.

The declaration said that social development, in all its elements and especially in education, was a main factor in achieving comprehensive development goals.

Despite the achievements made by many Arab in human development, especially in education, health services, combating poverty and illiteracy, the implementation of the greater Arab free trade zone, regional Arab economic blocs and progress in cooperation between these blocs and international ones, it said the Arab world was still facing local and international challenges that affected its security, sovereignty and social status.

These challenges, at the local level, were poverty, unemployment, low living standards, low trade levels and inter-Arab investments, it noted, as well as the migration of capital and qualified workforce, weak infrastructure, inadequate education levels and incompatibility with labor market requirements, food and water security, climate change, energy, and inefficient use of resources.

As for international challenges, the declaration said the global economic crisis and unrest in international financial markets, threat of recession and economic crunch and the impact this could have on Arab development had all prompted economic blocs and financial institutions around the world to find suitable means to tackle these issues and prevent their growth, and this included Arab efforts.

As for Arab economic and social integration, the declaration agreed on the need to double efforts to achieve comprehensive economic and social integration among Arab states and to steer clear of any political aspects and to make it a means to achieve sustainable social and economic development and achieving the aspirations of the people for integration in global economy and dealing with international political and economic blocs.

On the global economic crisis, the declaration called for following monetary and financial policies that boost the capability of Arab states to face the global meltdown and actively participate in international efforts to guarantee the world's financial stability, as well as activating the role of Arab financial institutions to increase inter-Arab investments and support Arab economy.

As for investment, the declaration called for encouraging inter-Arab investments, as well as providing a suitable environment and protection for these investments, facilitating the movement of Arab capital, and expanding the scope of the agreement for the investment of Arab capital in Arab states.

In terms of finance and financial institutions, the declaration called for boosting the role of joint Arab and national funds and financial institutions, developing their resources, relaxing conditions for granting loans, developing mechanisms for financing main inter-Arab projects in order to contribute to Arab economic integration, involving the private sector, providing credit facilitations for small and medium enterprises.

On statistics, it called for making data and accurate statistics available, saying that these were vital to planning and policy making, as well as decision making in economic and social development. It also called for developing and boosting the capabilities and resources of statistical bodies.

Meanwhile, for the private sector, the declaration called for providing the economic and legal frameworks for the operation of the private sector and removing all obstacles facing its active participation in social and economic development in Arab states. It also called for boosting its role in building Arab social and economic integration, facilitating the movement of individuals, especially businessmen, and removing all obstacles in the way of transfer of capital among the Arab states.

Moreover, the declaration spoke of human resource development called for working to increase the efficiency of Arab human resources within efforts to achieve the Millennium Goals by 2015, curbing poverty, expanding the empowerment of women and youth, creating job opportunities, improving the health and education sectors, and raising incomes.

On education and scientific research, the declaration called for developing education and learning systems to keep up with the fast-paced developments in science and technology, elevating the standards of educational institutions and making them more efficient, and supporting the educational and scientific research plan approved in the Khartoum and Damascus summits (2006 and 2008 respectively). It also urged placing greater emphasis on scientific research and allocating budgets for it, easing access to knowledge, consolidating relations between Arab research centers, nationalizing modern technologies, encouraging scientists and researcher and encouraging their work.

As for health care, the declaration called for expanding basic health care projects in the Arab world, activating the role of joint Arab health institutions in order to raise service standards. It also called for according special attention to tacking non-contagious diseases such as diabetes, and producing effective medicine, easing its registration and thus creating medicament security in the Arab world.

The leaders lauded the initiative of the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah of Kuwait for establishing a USD two billion fund for supporting investment projects and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and its contribution of USD 500 million to this initiative.

The Arab Economic, Development and Social summit was concluded, issuing a number of resolutions, topped by the call for durable stoppage of the Israeli military aggression against the Palestinian people in Gaza, and achievement of reconciliation among Palestinian major factions.

The Arab leaders called for reconstruction of Gaza Strip and improvement of its health services and enforcing measures to ward off the repercussions of the global financial crisis on Arab economies. They also approved the Arab electrical linkage project, railway linkage system, the emergency Arab food security program, the customs union and water security strategy.

They called for executing the comprehensive program to support employment and curb unemployment in the Arab countries, reduce poverty and support the Arab Program for the implementation of the current Millennium Development Goals, the development of education, the improvement of health care, encourage the role of the private sector in supporting the common Arab action and the preparation for the forthcoming economic, development and social summit.

The resolutions included the reconstruction of Gaza Strip, the program of rehabilitation and reconstruction in coordination with the Palestinian National Authority in accordance with Arab and international mechanisms adopted to support the Palestinian people and the continuation to provide humanitarian assistance and relief to the people of the Gaza Strip, in addition to providing financial and technical support necessary for the rehabilitation of infrastructure, health services and improvement of living conditions of Gaza Strip's population, the authorization of the Council of Arab Ministers of Health to establish field hospitals, provide medical teams and health personnel capable of providing health care and medical services.

Concerning the global financial crisis, the Arab leaders vowed continued support for the Arab States and their national financial institutions, and strengthen control and supervision on them, call the Arab states to play more active role in international economic relations and to participate in international efforts to ensure the global financial stability in addition to increasing the coordination and coherence by the governors of Arab central banks and monetary institutions among the control bodies in Arab countries.

Moreover, they called for quickly completing the Arab electrical linkage project and removing all obstacles facing the project in action.

They approved the launching the Arab railway network project in line with the plan placed by the Council of Arab Transport Ministers.

Furthermore, the Arab leaders decided to launch an emergency Arab food security program and assign the governments of the Arab states benefiting from the program's elements, to grant preferential benefits, especially for investment in the specific areas of the program and demand the Arab, regional and international institutions and development funds to contribute to providing the financial requirements necessary for the implementation of the program in addition to inviting the private sector to invest in the implementation of the program.

The meeting decided to replenish necessary measures to complete the customs union by 2015 to ultimately establish the Common Arab Market.

They authorized the Council of Arab Water Ministers to forge a strategy for water security in the Arab region to face challenges and requirements for sustainable development.

They designated 2010-2020 as the "Arab decade for employment and reducing poverty by half," and giving priority to developmental policies in the Arab states in order to boost employment rates, create jobs, curb unemployment, and improve living standards.

They called for implementing the Arab program for combating poverty and financing its programs for four years, while inviting Arab finance institutions to contribute to financing them.

With regard to the Arab Program to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, it was decided to implement them during the period from 2009 to 2015, with a focus on the least developed Arab countries and that it is incumbent on them to submit an annual report to the General Secretariat of the Arab League on the progress achieved in implementing the Millennium Development Goals and aid will be determined by the progress achieved.

On education, Arab leaders called for the execution of a plan to develop education in the Arab world between 2009 and 2019.

As for health, the leaders called on Arab governments to improve health care services, implement family care systems, and putting this on the agenda of Arab health ministries.

The leaders praised efforts of the private sector in supporting joint Arab action and invited it to continue contributing to Arab economic development.

They also called for activating the role of civil societies in the economic, social, and development fields and boosting partnership with Arab organizations and corporations to achieve the development, social, and economic goals.

As for the next Arab economic, development and social summit, the meeting welcomed Egypt's bid to host the forthcoming one, which will be held after two years.

The summit sent its sincere appreciation and immense gratitude to the State of Kuwait, its Emir, government and people for their warm reception and hospitality, encompassing all delegations participating in the Arab summit.