Arab foreign ministers' meeting showed wide agreement, says Gargash

Baghdad - March 29, 2012 (WAM) - Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr Anwar Mohammed Gargash said the meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Baghdad showed wide agreement which would further strengthen Arab joint action. "The UAE has always had, and will continue to have a unifying stance as it considers Arab solidarity and unity of discourse an asset for Arabs. This is based on the UAE's belief in the fact that Arabs are able to draw up a vision for their future and to handle their issues. Their cooperation in this regard with significant powers and international organisations based on their agreement is rather described as partnership and a peer-to-peer relation," Gargash told WAM on the eve of the Arab Summit in Baghdad Iraq. "This is the policy directed by President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and based on that, we saw wide appreciation of the role played by Arab countries in tackling the crises in Libya, Yemen and Somalia. The dialogue on Syria and the relevant Arab League's initiative has become the cornerstone for dealing with the crisis in this sisterly country," Gargash added. "The Arab Foreign Ministers' meeting has followed up significant developments such as the mission of the UN- Arab League envoy to Syria Kofi Annan, has been notified of Annan's contacts with the Syrian government and its approval of his plan which is based on the Arab initiative which calls for an immediate halt to violence and the bloodshed," the minister further said. "A successful meeting in Baghdad would give a boost to Arab joint-action and revive the role of Iraq in pan-Arab politics, a goal the UAE's diplomacy has always sought ever since it initiated contacts with the new Iraq," Gargash explained. - Emirates News Agency, WAM