Five-party Arab summit kicks off in Libya

Leaders of five Arab League countries opened a meeting on Monday in the Libyan capital of Tripoli with the aim of discussing steps to develop the joint action of the pan-Arab body, including a proposal to establish a union of Arab states.

The summit opened in a closed session brought together Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh and Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, plus Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa.

The five countries comprise a pentagonal committee assigned by the previous Arab summit to look into an initiative proposed by Yemen to replace the current pan-Arab body with an Arab union.

Libya, currently holding the rotating presidency of the Arab League, called for the meeting to prepare a draft document on developing the joint Arab action, which will be referred to an extraordinary Arab summit, slated for October in Libya, for approval.

Source:Xinhua