President Adel Fattah El Sisi was handed over the presidency of the Arab Summit from Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jabir Al Mubarak Al Sabah at the inauguration of the 26th Arab Summit here.
Addressing the Summit, President Sisi announced the inauguration of the 26th Arab Summit by welcoming the Arab leaders and Arab League Secretary General Nabil El Araby.
Sisi conveyed the greetings of the Egyptian people to the Arab leaders, saying that Egyptians have always been proud of their Arab affiliation and would continue exerting all possible efforts to protect the independence and dignity of the Arab world.
He voiced thanks to Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Jabir Al Sabah for his wise leadership and far-sighted vision during his presidency of the former summit.
He also praised the strenuous efforts of the Arab League general secretariat and Secretary General during preparations for today's meeting.
Sisi said he is honored to take part in the first Arab summit while he is a president of Egypt, which he termed as "Arabs home", along with Cairo hosting the presidency of the current round of the Arab Summit.
The Arab nation is confronting various dangers that reached unprecedented limits with some of the crises escalating and expanding, threatening the present and future of all Arabs.
Our summit meeting today under the title of "Challenges Facing the Arab National Security" is an expression of our understanding of the necessity of standing against all thorny issues without delay through a balanced and honest approach and with the use of influential and effective tools, Sisi added.
Our Arab nation has suffered from various crises and shocks since the foundation of its Arab League; from a struggle to liberate the national will to ending the occupation or wars that they waged to defend their rights. All these eras of struggle have an economic impact on the Arab region at both the domestic or foreign levels.
The Arab nation has never been faced with threats to its national identity as such ones of current days which target the ties and bonds among their countries or peoples, he said, adding that such plots are dismantling the texture of the societies from inside with the aim of dividing their unity on the bases of religion, race, sect or doctrine.
Such huge challenge to the nation's identity, stability of its societies or Arab nature brings about another pending challenge that is the security of all its citizens as the terrorism and intimidation have become tools for any extremist elements threatening the entity of any country and undermining its unity, he added.
Sisi said those extremist elements have taken advantage of the legitimate demands of citizens in some Arab countries, in view of some shortcomings by their governments, to snatch the countries and wage war on their peoples.
We have seen how the terrorists are making horrible and heinous attacks that exceeded all limits regardless of any religious or ethical values with the aim of spreading panic and challenging the authorities of the countries, shaking confidence in them and showing up their powers to promote for their extremist thoughts utilizing the name of religion to achieve their political goals, Sisi noted.
We should be fair to address the problems of our societies which have accumulated and become a grave challenge at both the social and economic levels, especially in the fields of unemployment, illiteracy, poverty and social welfare, he said.
We should take advantage of our awareness of such problems that are up to the level of other challenges facing the national security in order to ban any elements from interfering in our societies or polarizing citizens in a way that could endanger our security and have a serious repercussion on the Arab identity and entity, Sisi added.
The Arabs have to shoulder their responsibilities through an honest and influential approach, Sisi said, calling for taking practical and collaborative measures that comply with the common targets of protecting the Arab identity and deterring any foreign interference in our affairs.
He voiced confidence that the Arab nation has the right to defend itself, to defend its security against any threat to any brotherly or neighboring country. Sisi asserted that this right to defense is a shield for our people and is not to be used against anyone unless he starts with the attack.
Sisi also reiterated the importance of the religious institutions in standing against the extremist thought that could drag whoever adopts it to the quagmire of terrorism if he did not find correct and well-established thoughts about religion.
We are in dire need of activating the role of such foundations in establishing correct and profound understanding of Islam’s objectives in terms of spreading tolerance and mercy, Sisi clarified.
We need clearance and upgrading of the religious discourse and, therefore, Arab peoples pin much hope on the religious foundations in all Arab countries, he added.
The conference hosted by Al Azhar in December was a practical model for such efforts to dry up the roots of extremism, Sisi said.
He also highlighted the role of intellectuals, men of thought, culture, media and education who should bear their responsibilities towards their nations by fortifying young Arabs against such ideas which incite hatred, isolation and rejection of the other and work on entrenching the understandings of modern state and protecting the whole Arab texture with all its components.
Arab youths should realize the value of the civilization and humanitarian heritage, he said, noting that the Arab and Islamic civilizations have been a main source for such heritage and their spiritual content have leashed many energies for thought, literature and science on which humans depended in their endeavors to realize a better future, he added.
Drawing on such spirit, a galaxy of intellectuals and men of culture took part in a conference hosted by Bibliotheca Alexandrina, called for by Egypt during the 25th Arab Summit, to outline a comprehensive Arab Strategy against extremist thought, Sisi added.
In this respect, Sisi warned against unconventional types of terrorism which use modern technologies and communication and misuse the internet and information networks to incite terrorism, panic and extremist thought.
Egypt calls for consolidating all efforts to outline general principles for the safe use of information technology and communications and activate the international agreements concerning this issue.
Sisi said the Arab nation is in dire need of a profound thought and self-confidence in how to get prepared for dealing with such developments through the establishment of a joint Arab action without infringing the sovereignty of any Arab country or its independence, and in line with the charters of the UN and the Arab League and within the framework of a full respect for the international law and non-interference in the domestic affairs of any side.
As we reject interference in our affairs, we also have all respect for any country’s right to determine its future with the free will of its people, Sisi added.
In this framework, Sisi said Egypt welcomes the draft resolution, approved by the Arab foreign ministers and referred to the summit, on forming a joint Arab force to be a tool for confronting the challenges threatening the Arab national security.
The Arab nation has potentials that guarantee it continues its march towards integration that could have profits not only on the economic aspect, but on other varied fields, he added. Forming a joint Arab force could be an important means for protecting and maintaining the Arab identity and the Arab region whose boundaries have become immune for attacks and erosion.
In this respect, Sisi praised the prominent role of the Arab parliament in expressing the aspirations and concerns of the Arab peoples and crystallizing the value of the joint Arab action.
He also praised the outcome of the Arab Development and Social Affairs Ministers Conference, held in October, which ratified a declaration guaranteeing the priorities of Arab development starting 2015 and henceforth.
We seek to include this declaration in the agenda of Arab development priorities, especially regarding the issues of poverty combat, equality in jobs, social justice as well as providing an honorable life for the Arab peoples, raising the standards of services in the health domain as well as illiteracy elimination by 2024, he added.
Sisi cited Yemen as an evidence on the size of challenges facing the Arab nation. He said Yemen fell in the hands of a group of people who used arms and intimidation to undermine legitimacy of consensus and dialogue, while another group has taken advantage of the situation to snatch the authority away from their fellows along with foreign interference which seeks to spread the disease of division in the Arab body.
In view of such circumstances, all efforts for dialogue failed and attempts for avoiding an armed conflict bear no fruit, Sisi said, noting that it was inevitable to make a firm Arab move involving Egypt through a coalition gathering the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member-states, Arab countries and international bodies to maintain Yemen’s unity, territorial integrity and its national and Arab identity to enable the Yemeni state to have full control over its territories and restore its security and stability.
We cannot stand silent regarding the situation in Libya, Sisi said, noting that restoring the security and stability of Libya is not of utmost importance to Egypt only, but to the whole region and the Arab world in view of the common threats and unity of the objective and fate along with other considerations of maintaining the international peace and security that were influenced by the increasing terrorist threats in Libya.
In the meantime, our support for the elected Libyan parliament and government is mainly due to our full respect for the Libyan people and their right to self-determination. However, the situation in Libya turned into a complicated and risky one in light of the brutality of the terrorist organizations, a matter which required offering all possible and immediate support for the legitimate government to enable it to restore security and stability nationwide, combat terrorism and defend itself against such terrorist organizations.
Sisi has also supported the political solutions suggested by the UN to reach a consensus among Libyan factions and form a national unity government.
The Syrian crisis has become a tragedy which pains the world conscience, Sisi said, voicing concern over the continuation of the Syrian people’s suffering in view of the further deterioration of their conditions day after day.
He pressed the need for adopting an Arab vision that leads to taking serious measures to save Syria and protect the security of the region. It is inevitable to proceed with the political solution to stem the bloodshed, maintain the unity of the Syrian territories and its national texture under the cover of a civilian state gathering all Syrians.
Egypt has been dealing with the Syrian crisis from two key angles; firstly, supporting the Syrian people’s aspirations to build a democratic civil state, and secondly is confronting all the terrorist organizations which have widely spread without the collapse of the Syrian state institutions, he explained
Emanating from Egypt’s responsibility towards Syria, Cairo hosted a conference in January to group a wide range of Syrian opposition powers , Sisi said, adding that preparations are currently underway to hold a more expanded meeting for such political powers.
Going along the road of adopting a political solution approved by the Syrians and the international community is an important step on the way of ending the Syrian people's catastrophe and achieving their hopes for building their own democratic national state , he added.
Sisi said Iraqi’s success in achieving their constitutional requirements which was crowned by forming a new government required extending support to all positive steps adopted by the government to restore security and stability to the country.
He also welcomed the policies adopted by the Iraqi government to restore its relations with its Arab neighbors in a way that could bring back Iraq to its Arab surroundings.
Sisi also voiced hope that the Iraqi government would achieve the requirements of reconciliation and national consensus among all categories of the Iraqi people away from any ethnical or sectarian distinction. He said such efforts do not only help safeguard the security of Iraq, but the whole Arab national security.
Egypt has also been following the developments in Lebanon and welcomed the dialogue among the Lebanese political powers, Sisi said, voicing hope for Lebanon’s ability to overcome the current critical phase in its history.
He also said all Arabs are willing to see an elected president for Lebanon without waiting for a long time.
On Somalia, Sisi said the country has suffered for almost two decades from instability and daily threats to the lives of its people. However, the federal government of Somalia has exerted much efforts to introduce gradual improvement on the security and the political fronts, but recurrent terrorist attacks are still posing a direct threat to the whole region which is part and parcel of the Arab national security, he added.
Despite the grave challenges and threats facing the Arab nation, Egypt will continue to attach special importance to the Palestinian issue which is the cornerstone of stability in the region, Sisi said.
Egypt will not stand hand-tied as long as the Palestinian people’s rights are squandered, Sisi said, noting that Arabs’ hearts and minds are open for a just and comprehensive peace that realizes security and stability for all parties. This required an end to the Israeli occupation through serious and fruitful talks based on the international resolutions and the Arab peace initiative along with an immediate halt of all Israeli settlement activities and violation of religious sanctuaries, he said.
Standing against threats to the Arab national security also required an affirmation on the Arab steadfast principles of freeing the Middle East region from nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction, Sisi explained.
Convening a conference on the treaty of nuclear non-proliferation, set for April and May, would give a real opportunity for Arab countries to demand the international community to shoulder its responsibilities towards a review of decisions issued during the 1995 conference on freeing the region from WMDs.
In conclusion, Sisi affirmed that the future of the Arab nation is bound by the decisions to be taken by the Arab leaders to achieve the aspirations of their people to prosperity and welfare. He appealed to God to help the Arabs in shouldering their responsibility towards achieving the dignity and prosperity of the Arab world.
Sisi ended his speech with the phrase “Long Live the Arab Nation”.