President al-Assad: Pan-Arab concept, in its main meaning, is belonging

Damascus, SANA- President Bashar al-Assad on Monday received a delegation from Islamic national conference which comprises heads of parties, representatives, political and syndicate figures from a number of Arab and Islamic countries. Talks during the meeting dealt with the Pan-Arab Arab concept, identity and belonging, affirming that what has lately happened in Gaza and the victory achieved there, the uprising of the Palestinian people in all regions and the interaction of the Arab people with them, proved that the Arab people are still adhering to their ideology, identity and belonging despite all the plots that were hatched and circulated to the Arab region under various names. Discussions also tacked the importance of addressing the youth, and the need to renew the language through which the concept of pan-Arab is presented to the younger generations. President al-Assad considered that the Pan-Arab concept in its basic and essential meaning is an idea of belonging, adding that this concept should not be presented in an abstract ideological or theoretical framework, rather it should be based on facts and linking should be done between the principled and ideological ideas from one hand , and the interests of the peoples on the other. President al-Assad went on to say that Arab intellectual elites face the challenge of convincing the people that there is a direct relation between belonging and interest , and that that states of division, isolation or sectarianism if they happened in an Arab country , they would move to the others countries ,and therefore “we cannot look at the Arab countries except as one national arena.” Members of the visiting delegation, for their part, affirmed that the resilience of the Syrian people in the face of all events to which they have been exposed, during the past years, has reconsidered the pan-Arab project, adding that “Syria has paid and is still paying the price of for its nationalist stances and its support for the resistance. They considered all Arab and Islamic peoples and free forces in the world should stand by Syria as defending it is a defense for destiny and future. Members of the delegation also congratulated the Syrian people on the success of the presidential election, considering that this constitutional process reflected the spirit of challenge through which they were able to withstand and prove that the terrorist and economic war to which they were exposed has failed to break their free will and independent decision.