Saleh flies to Libya for summit

SANA’A, March 26 (Saba) – President Ali Abdullah Saleh flew on Friday to Libya at the head of a senior Yemeni delegation for the 22nd Arab Summit set to start on Saturday in Surt city. Upon departure, the president said that the summit comes at this critical juncture when Israel is intensifying violence against the Palestinian people, its expansion attempts and offending the holy places including al-Quds in Palestine. We hope it comes out with effective decisions and concrete steps to boost Arab solidarity and have a united voice to face all challenges in the Arab World, he said. We also hope the summit provides us with the opportunity to heal the Arab rift and eliminate the remaining stains on the Arab ties to serve common interests. Doubtless, Arabs pin hope on this meeting expected to lay the bases for Arab common work in line with world changes and meeting the aspirations of the Arab countries. There are several Arab initiatives on the agenda of the summit including a Yemeni proposal calling for activating Arab common work that we hope to be thoroughly discussed to find solutions to the current Arab situation, Saleh said. He added that the meeting will also meet Arabs to consult and exchange points of view over various issues of mutual concern. The delegation accompanying Saleh included Deputy Prime Minster for Defense and Security Affairs, Minister of Local Administration Rashad al-Alimi, Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Qirbi, Expatriate Affairs Minister Ahmed Musaed Hussein and Deputy Speaker of Arab Parliament Mansour al-Zandani. FRSaba