Arab leaders to attend 32nd summit in Saudi Arabia

By Ibrahim Al-Khazen

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AA) — The Saudi city of Jeddah will host the Arab League's 32nd regular leaders summit Friday, with the head of the Syrian regime to attend for the first time in 12 years.

Bashar al-Assad's participation in the regular summit comes after Syria was reinstated as a member of the Arab League earlier this month, in time for its 50th summit in the past 77 years.

Major outcomes emerged from previous summits, with the most prominent compiled below.

- 1940s: Breakthrough

1946 - Emergency Inshas summit in Egypt: The Palestinian cause is at the forefront of talks.

- 1950s: Support for Egypt, Algeria

1956 - Beirut emergency summit in Lebanon: Support is expressed for Egypt as its Sinai Peninsula was occupied by the British, French, and Israelis, as well as for Algeria in its fight for independence against France.

- 1960s: Rejection

January 1964 - Cairo summit: Leaders agree to work on resolving differences between Arab nations.

September 1964 - Alexandria summit: Support is voiced for Palestine.

1965 - Morocco summit: A plan is adopted to internationally defend the Palestinian cause.

1967 - Khartoum summit: Arab Leaders reject peace, negotiation, and recognition of Israel.

1969 - Rabat summit: A call is made for confrontation with Israel.

- 1970s: Call for unity

1970 - Cairo emergency summit: Jordanian and Palestinian leaders call for an end to slashes in Jordan between the two sides.

1973 - Algiers summit: Israel is called to withdraw from all occupied Arab lands.

1974 - Rabat summit: Leaders emphasize need for unity between Arab countries.

1976 - Riyadh emergency summit: Six nations' leaders meet to discuss the civil war in Lebanon.

1976 - Cairo summit: The Lebanese crisis is discussed.

1978 - Baghdad summit: The Egyptian-Israeli peace deal at Camp David is rejected, Cairo's membership is suspended, and the Arab League headquarters is moved to Tunisia.

1979 - Tunis summit: The league reaffirms its condemnation of the Camp David Accords.

- 1980s: Rejection of Camp David

1980 - Amman Summit: Rejection of the Camp David Accords is stressed.

1981 - Fez Summit: An Arab plan to resolve the Middle East crisis on Israeli involvement in Lebanon is rejected.

1982 - Fez emergency summit: An Arab project for peace with Israel is discussed.

1985 - Casablanca emergency summit: The leaders reiterate their rejection of Israeli attacks against Palestinians.

1987 - Amman emergency summit: Iran's occupation of parts of Iraq was condemned.

1988 - Algeria emergency summit: Leaders confirm support for Palestine, as well as Iraq in its war with Iran.

1989 - Casablanca emergency summit: Egypt regains membership and reaffirms the importance of supporting Palestine.

- 1990s: Intifada

May 1990 - Baghdad emergency summit: Support for Palestine is reiterated.

August 1990 - Cairo emergency summit: Iraqi aggression against Kuwait is condemned.

1996 - Cairo emergency summit in Egypt: Israel called on to withdraw from occupied Arab lands.

- 2000s: Arab initiative for peace

2000 - Cairo emergency summit: Leaders agree on establishing a fund to support Jerusalem.

2001 - Amman summit: Israel's expansion of Jewish settlements in occupied territories is condemned.

2002 - Beirut summit: The league endorses the Arab Peace Initiative, proposed by Saudi Arabia, to end the conflict with Israel in return for its withdrawal to the 1967 borders.

2003 - Sharm El-Sheikh summit: Iraqi sovereignty is emphasized following the US invasion.

2004 - Tunis summit: Adherence to joint action for reform in the Arab League and domestic modernization.

2005 - Algiers summit: Commitment to the Arab Peace Initiative is reaffirmed.

2006 - Khartoum summit: Commitment to the Arab Peace Initiative is reiterated.

2007 - Riyadh summit: Israel is urged to accept the Arab Peace Initiative.

2008 - Damascus summit: Leaders reiterate support for Iraqi sovereignty.

January 2009 - Kuwait Economic and Development Summit: The league calls for Arab integration against the global financial crisis.

March 2009 - Doha summit: Support for Palestine is reaffirmed.

- 2010-2022: Revolutions, crises

2010 - Sirte summit: Importance of joint Arab action to save Jerusalem is stressed.

2011 - Sharm El-Sheikh Economic and Development Summit: Support for Palestine is reaffirmed .

2012 - Baghdad summit: In this meeting, postponed since 2010 due to uprisings in Arab countries, ends with the freezing of Syria's membership.

January 2013 - Riyadh Economic and Development Summit: An agreement for investment in Arab capitals is adopted.

March 2013 - Doha summit: Syrian opposition was given the seat of the Assad regime.

2014 - Kuwait summit: Leaders reiterate call for establishment of a Palestinian state.

2015 - Sharm el-Sheikh summit: Approved the formation of a joint military force.

2016 - Nouakchott summit: Leaders call for supporting Yemeni government institutions against Houthis.

2017 - Jordan summit: Leaders denounce Israeli violations in Palestine.

2018 - Dhahran summit: Leaders reject US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

January 2019 - Beirut economic summit: Leaders reaffirmed their support for Palestinians and the responsibility to protect the status of Jerusalem. Discussions were also held on food security in the Arab world.

March 2019 - Tunis summit: Leaders rejected alleged Iranian interference in the region.

2019 - Mecca emergency summit: Leaders reject Iran's involvement in Yemen and Houthi rebels' attacks against Saudi Arabia.

2022 - Algiers summit: Leaders call for observance of Palestinians' rights and underlined the need for a collective Arab role in ending the war in Syrian.

- 2023: Jeddah Summit in 2023

The Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad will return to its seat at Jeddah summit, set to begin Friday, with efforts to resolve the conflict in the war-torn country expected to be at the top of the agenda.

The fifth session of the Arab Economic and Social Development Summit is scheduled to take place in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, on Nov. 6-7.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi