Preparatory meetings for Arab summit to start Monday

The preparatory meetings of the 26th session of the Arab summit will start in the Red Sea city of Sharm el Sheikh on Friday at the level of senior officials.
Egypt will take over the one-year presidency of the Arab summit from Kuwait on Saturday.
Senior officials will discuss setting up the Greater Arab Free Trade Area and preparations for the customs federation.
The officials will submit their recommendations to the meetings of the Arab trade and economy ministers council to meet on Wednesday.
Also, the permanent delegates to the Arab League will meet on Tuesday to prepare the draft resolutions that will be submitted to the Arab foreign ministers on Thursday.
This summit is of special significance as it coincides with the 70th anniversary of the pan-Arab body, said Egypt's permanent delegate to the Arab League Tarek Adel.
He added that the summit will discuss the current challenges to the Arab world, especially terrorism.