Arab, South American foreign ministries officials outline 'Riyadh declaration'

Top officials at the foreign ministries of Arab and South American countries have outlined draft "Riyadh declaration" that should be released at the end of the fourth summit of Arab and South American countries to be held in the Saudi capital in November.

Meeting at the Arab League (AL) HQ Tuesday, the top officials agreed to convene another meeting ahead of a get-together at the level of foreign ministers.

They decided to meet on the sidelines of UN General Assembly meetings in New York in September.

That meeting is meant to finalize an agreement on a joint draft protocol, said Fadel Gawad, Assistant AL Secretary General for International Political Affairs.

Preparatory meetings are set to end in Riyadh ahead of the summit, which will be held under the auspices of Saudi King Salman bin Abdel Aziz.

Ibrahim Mohieldin, the director of the Americas department at the AL, said the meeting of the top officials earlier today also tackled political files of mutual concern, including the Palestinian cause and the crises in Libya, Yemen and Syria.