Ben Helli to QNA: Qatar Played Great Role in Joint Arab Action

Cairo, January 18 (QNA) - Deputy Secretary General of the Arab League Ambassador Ahmed Ben Helli has lauded Qatar's diplomatic role, which has left a clear mark on the joint Arab action, hoping that this be a role model to other Arab states to follow suit. Ambassador Ben Helli in an interview with Qatar News Agency (QNA), at his office at the headquarters of the Arab League's Secretariat General in Cairo, said the State of Qatar, during its presidency over the Arab Ministerial Council and before it the Arab Summit, was able to perform well its mission in handling files to activate and strengthen the role of the League, especially in relation to crises in Libya and Syria as well as the Palestinian cause. He added the State of Qatar represented by its leadership was able to give a strong and successful boost to the presidency of the summit and the chairmanship of the ministerial council due to its dynamic and effective diplomacy. The Arab League Deputy Secretary General also hoped that all Arab countries that preside over the ministerial council or the summit leave their real marks on the joint Arab action and the role played by the League. On the Arab League's role on the Syrian crisis, Ben Helli said the regional organisation dealt with this challenge since March 15, 2011, when the protest movement began to escalate. The Arab League Secretary-General Dr.Nabil al Arabi has supported the Syrian cause since the beginning, said Ben Helli, refering to his visit to Syrian for talks with President al Assad and a number of Syrian senior officials. The ministerial meeting held on August 28 represented the starting point to draw the attention to the Syrian crisis, said the ambassador, noting that this meeting witnessed the presentation of an initiative by the AL Chief, which was rejected by the Syrian leadership. Reviewing the AL path on the Syrian crisis, Ben Helli underlined the formation of the ministerial committee on Syria led by HE Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor Al Thani, Qatar's Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, which held a number of meetings till the presentation of the Arab League-brokered deal in November. “We are now in a critical stage, “he said, adding that the AL is set to review the Observers' Final Syria Report on Thursday, a month after Syria signed the protocol with the Arab League. "Tomorrow's meeting will be decisive since it will decide either to extend the AL observers' mission and the protocol or not,” added Ben Helli. “This mission is only a mechanism," he said, noting that the question now is to define if “we should call for UN experts to join the observers' mission in Syria." The observers were selected from a number of Arab and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states according to clear standards, the AL official explained. A UN delegation is expected to visit the AL headquarters shortly, he said, “this would offer us the opportunity to benefit from their expertise in terms of writing reports.” (QNA)