Asharq Al-Awsat
Cairo- The League of Arab States (LAS) announced on Feb.20 that Nabil Elaraby LAS Secretary-General has received a phone call from Salaheddine Mezouar, who expressed Morocco’s apology for not being able to host the Arab League Summit. The convention was supposed to be held in Marrakesh city on the 6th and 7th of the upcoming April.
Ahmed bin Hali Deputy LAS Secretary-General, told Ahsarq Al-Awsat that the Moroccan FM Mezouar had notified Secretary-General Elaraby of the decision over the phone. “We are still waiting for an official statement to confirm it”, bin Hali added.
FM Mezouar had already requested Secretary-General Elaraby to reschedule the summit from March to April in his last visit to Cairo. Elaraby later obliged to the appeal and had his secretariat announce the summit postponed from 29th and 30th of March to the 7th and 8th of April.
Morocco had previously excused the delay decision with the challenges facing the Arab world today. They explained that the Arab League Summit as a gathering must not be the reason of its establishment, or it being held as a mere occasional convention.
Informed diplomatic sources in Cairo told Asharq Al-Awsat that Morocco has officially announced not hosting the summit, the second nation in line is Mauritania. Should Mauritania also withhold from holding the Arab League Summit, the convention will be automatically held in the LAS headquarters in Egypt.
