Damascus, March 24 (Xinhua) Permanent delegates of the Arab League and senior officials would hold meetings Monday in preparation for the upcoming Arab summit due here later this month, the official SANA news agency reported.
The draft agenda of the summit, a number of topics related to issues of common Arab action, and political, economic and social developments would be discussed at the meetings, SANA said.
The Palestinian cause, the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, situations in Iraq, Lebanon, Sudan, Somalia and the Comoros, and the rejection of unilateral US sanctions on Syria, would be on the agenda, it added.
The representatives would also re-evaluate the Arab peace initiative in light of Israel’s refusal to the requirements of a just and comprehensive peace in the region, it said.
Another preparatory meeting for the Arab Economic and Social Council meetings of the summit would also be held by the participants, the report said.
The Council’s report on achievements and actions in the field of Arab economic cooperation since last summit, preparations for the economic summit in Kuwait due in 2009, and means to overcome the obstacles hindering the establishment of the Arab Free Trade Zone, would be discussed.
Social and environmental issues, in addition to the possibility of establishing an Arab satellite organization and adopting strategies for tourism and information technology, would also be dealt with, said the report.
The 20th Arab summit will be held in Damascus March 29-30.