KUWAIT: His
Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah is heading with an
official accompanying delegation to Egypt today to participate in the
Arab-European summit, scheduled to take place in the city of Sharm El-Sheikh. The
EU-Arab summit is held amid aspirations to strengthen bilateral cooperation
between the Arab League and the European Union to promote regional and
international security and stability. The two-day summit is the first of its
kind between the two sides, especially in light of their emphasis on the
importance of dialogue between the Arab and European regions.

Egypt's President
Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, whose country is hosting the summit, stressed that this
is an "excellent opportunity" to find common ground to address
regional issues. "The Arab world is Europe's first partner," Sisi
said during a meeting at the Munich Security Conference last week. Sisi noted
that Sharm El-Sheikh summit is an "important step" for the
development of relations between the two sides, pointing out that stability and
security in the Arab region is affected by stability and security in Europe.

Greater
cooperation

Klaus Iohannis,
the current president of the European Union, also stressed the importance of
the first EU-Arab summit in light of the need for deeper and greater
cooperation. Iohannis affirmed that it is the time to hold a summit of European
and Arab leaders, expressing optimism that all problems could be resolved
through joint action and dialogue on regional crises, migration, economic
development and security cooperation.

On February 17,
the European Union said that the EU-Arab summit, to be held under the
chairmanship of Egyptian President and European Council President Donald Tusk,
aims to strengthen relations between the two sides. The summit will focus on a
number of common issues and challenges, the most important of which are
multilateralism, trade, investment, migration and security, in addition to the
situation in the region, said the EU in statement.

Arab League
Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said in a joint press conference at the end
of the Brussels meeting that the two sides pledged to make additional efforts
to ensure the implementation of UN resolutions, the Security Council and
various related initiatives, especially the Arab peace initiative in the Middle
East. EU High Representative for Foreign, Political and Security Affairs
Federica Mogherini affirmed that the two sides "agree" on 95 percent
of all issues under discussion.

During the press
conference, Mogherini pointed to the "conformity" of the positions of
the EU and the Arab League on the most important current regional crises,
noting that the two sides agreed on finding a political solution to the crisis
in Syria and their adherence to the two-state solution in the Middle East peace
process. She noted that the ministers focused in the joint meeting, which she
described as "good and constructive" on the regional and international
challenges facing the two parties, including "terrorism," climate
change, migration and the human rights situation in the world.

Kuwait
participated in the joint ministerial meeting in Brussels with a delegation
headed by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled
Al-Hamad Al-Sabah. The EU-Arab summit is likely to address a number of regional
issues and common challenges affecting the Arab and European regions such as
the situation in Libya, the Syrian crisis, the peace process, combating terrorism
and illegal immigration, as well as ways to enhance cooperation between the two
sides in various fields. Observers see the importance of establishing the first
EU-Arab summit bases of institutional and permanent cooperation between the two
sides in the framework of a strong partnership that meets the
aspirations and interests of both sides to promote
peace, security and
prosperity in the two regions.

New horizon

The meeting of
European and Arab leaders in Sharm El-Sheikh is historic in all sense of the
word. The summit between the 28-member European Union and the 22-member League
of Arab States (LAS) will bring together for the first time ever heads of state
or government from both sides. Mogherini lamented in a recent press conference
in Brussels that "with the League of Arab states we never had a summit
before and this is the paradox of our region."

"This is our
closest partner in terms of regional dimension, in terms of geography, history
and cultures," she said and noted that the EU holds regular summit with
Asia, African Union, Latin America, China and the US , but "we never had a
summit with the Arab world." A senior EU official told journalists in
Brussels Friday that leaders from both sides will seek to strengthen Arab-European
ties. They will address a wide range of issues and common challenges, such as
multilateralism, trade and investment, migration, security, the situation in
the region including Palestine, Syria, Yemen, Libya.

The official,
speaking on condition of anonymity, said that 24 EU leaders out of 28 will be
present at the Sharm El-Sheikh a clear indication of the high importance and
value that Europe is attaching to the two-day meeting. Tusk will represent the
EU along with the European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. Mogherini
and the EU Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement
Johannes Hahn will also attend the summit.

A common past,
geographical proximity and interdependence have contributed to strengthen
cooperation between the EU and the Arab world. Working together will also
further enhance the multilateral, rules based global order, said the official.
"The key word is engagement and this summit is not against anybody,"
clarified the official. "We do not see eye-to-eye on all issues as we see
reality in different terms. But we agree that there can be no military
solutions (to the regional crises)," said the EU official.

The two sides are
working on the text for the final statement expected to be released by the
summit. Foreign ministers from the EU and the LAS held a meeting in Brussels on
February 4, 2019 to prepare for the summit. "Whatever happens in the Arab
world affects Europeans and whatever happens in Europe affects the Arab world.
We have the responsibility of joining forces to find common solutions to common
challenges," Mogherini told reporters after that meeting. - KUNA