King urges Arab-South American cooperation

Riyadh, Nov 10 (BNA): His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa gave a keynote speech at the fourth Summit of South American-Arab Countries (ASPA) being held in Riyadh. Below full text of the royal speech: Your Majesties, excellencies and highnesses Peace and mercy and blessings of God be upon you. It is our great pleasure to be with you in this important summit, in response to the kind invitation of our brother the Custodian of the two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the King of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, May God protect him. Expressing our sincere appreciation for the warm reception and the kind hospitality that we always enjoy in the brotherly Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We also seize this opportunity to express our deepest appreciation to His Excellency President Ollanta Humala of the Republic of Peru for his unrelenting efforts during his presidency to enhance ties between South America and the Gulf Cooperation Council, which has had a great impact on the progress of our joint cooperation. Your Majesties, excellencies and highnesses The first summit, which was hosted by the Federative Republic of Brazil in 2005 constituted a launch pad for the multilateral relations between us, and determined the broad lines and main frameworks for the utilization of the historically deep-rooted bonds linking our nations and peoples. In addition to the numerous common denominators and convergent views and stances towards many issues discussed at the regional and international forums and organizations. Today, a decade after the creation of this important assembly, we are fully confident that the summit will achieve its desired goals in consolidating and intensifying joint action between us in various fields. Especially considering the big strides we have taken together as a result of the consecutive summits in Doha and Lima, which serve as a solid basis for further fruitful cooperation. Your Majesties, excellencies and highnesses The complex conflicts and worsening crises plaguing our Arab world are caused by external interference in the internal affairs of the Arab countries. The serious effects and negative repercussions of this interference are expanding and affecting various countries across the world, directly harming international peace and security; they require greater efforts and closer cooperation efforts to be confronted and resolved. What is occurring in the occupied Palestinian territories; the attacks, and continued aggression by the Israeli occupation authorities necessitate more action to prevent further deterioration of the situation. Adequate protection must be provided to the Palestinian people, and to preserve the religious sites in the city of Quds, particularly Al-Aqsa Mosque, to end the Israeli occupation of the Arab territories, stop the settlement activities and to establish an independent Palestinian state with East Quds as its capital according to the fourth of June 1967 border and in accordance with the legitimate international resolutions and the Arab peace initiative. In this respect, we highly appreciate the South American countries’ position in support of the Palestinian cause. In regards to the situation in Yemen, it is moving steadily towards achieving the aspirations of the Yemeni people. The Arab coalition, led by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will not give up on defending legitimacy in Yemen, the coalition will continue its role until the restoration of security and stability in Yemen is achieved. Including an end to all forms of outside intervention, and a long-term political solution between all parties to ensure the achievement of the aspirations of the people of Yemen in further development and progress. We further affirm that we are committed to doing our part in providing various types of humanitarian assistance and call on the international community to intensify its efforts in this area. We also emphasize the right of the United Arab Emirates to restore its sovereignty over the three islands occupied by Iran, and we support all efforts that safeguard the freedom of our brothers in Syria and Libya to choose their future through building independent political systems to maintain the unity and independence of their countries, and to protect their territories from terrorism and extremism, and work for further development, progress and prosperity. Your Majesties, Excellences and Highnesses We look forward to increase trade between Arab and South American countries. The achievement of this goal will not only contribute to the flow of trade and investment between us, but will also lead to the emergence of a strong economic grouping with huge potential and great elements for international competition. The opportunity to establish this economic bloc is at hand, in light of of the strong economic relations between our countries, particularly the rising trade levels between many Arab and South American countries. in addition to the large opportunities available in a variety of sectors between the including industry, agriculture, energy, tourism, financial services, training, education and other sectors. Your Majesties, Excellences and Highnesses Based on our belief that people to people interaction is vital for the development of relations and the promotion of common interests and considering that our relationship had started based on interdependence and communication between our peoples. We see the importance of expanding our official meetings into a forum commensurate with the size of the historical and cultural commonalities among us, to include all political, economic, cultural and social aspects, with the participation of everyone from politicians and businessmen, to intellectuals and thinkers. To make our official work as states based on the closeness of our people to people ties, which will undoubtedly lead to progress in the process of joint cooperation and ensure the sustainability of our relations. In conclusion, we emphasize that to maximize the gains of our nations, and to achieve further development and prosperity, we need to expand cooperation in different fields, expressing once again our full confidence in the success of this summit to reach the desired objectives, including efforts to achieve our common interests and meet our aspirations and our hopes for a brighter and more prosperous future. Peace and mercy and blessings of God be upon you