Qatari Prime Minister: Arab Summit's Decisions Reflect Aspirations of Arab Peoples

Doha, March 26 (QNA) - Prime Minister and Foreign Minister HE Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor Al Thani has underlined that the decisions reached by the 24th Arab summit in Doha reflected the real will for achieving aspirations of the Arab peoples. Speaking at a joint press conference tonight with the Arab League Secretary General Dr. Nabil Elaraby, HE the Premier and Foreign Minister said that the summit was of great significance, expressing pleasure over being be held in Doha, and the decisions reached by the summit. He noted that among the important decisions that the Syrian opposition delegation which participated in the Summit was granted the seat of Syria at this summit, in addition to holding an international conference at the United Nations for the reconstruction of Syria and the call for the international organizations to recognize the coalition forces of the revolution and the Syrian opposition. HE the Premier and Foreign Minister HE Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor Al Thani added that an Arab delegation was formed to go to Washington at the end of April for consultations with the US administration about the stalled peace process. He explained that the summit has taken a decision to hold an Arab mini-summit on the Palestinian reconciliation .. The summit also agreed on the proposal of HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani to set up a fund for Jerusalem, pointing out that the Israeli side had allocated an amount of five billion dollars to Judaize the city during the next five years. HE Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim said in this regard that East Jerusalem was almost completely swallowed, necessitating an Arab serious move to support brethren Jerusalemites and develop their city .. noting that it has been agreed the Islamic Development Bank would take over the management of this fund. HE the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor Al Thani stressed on the Arab consensus at the summit to reform the Arab League, underscoring that the issue of reform became inevitable and there is a commitment from all Arab countries to implement it. HE the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister said in this context it was decided to build an annex to the General Secretariat of the Arab League, adding that HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani donated on behalf of the State of Qatar for building that annex. He said that the summit agreed to set up a pension fund for the employees of the Arab League, adding that HH the Emir approved the establishment of this fund, which is an initiative of Arab League Secretary General Dr. Nabil Elaraby. HH the Emir praised the initiative and the Arab leaders approved a decision on it, he added. His Excellency said the reform process is not just a building or budget, but it is the will to change some regulations and systems in the Arab League, whether voting systems or otherwise. He explained that these issues were discussed thoroughly by leaders and by foreign ministers, pointing to the existence of genuine desire to improve joint Arab action. HE the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor Al Thani said the right of self-defense was guaranteed by all UN charters. HE the Prime Minister added that the Syrian people deserve, for what they did in the revolution, much more from the Arab leaders. His Excellency noted that they held a number of meetings in Doha to find a peaceful resolution to the Syrian crisis, but they sensed that the Syrian regime was merely trying to waste time. On developing the Arab League, HE the Prime Minister stated that the Arab League's handling of the Libyan and Syrian issues was part of its progress. On reform in the State of Qatar, HE Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor Al Thani said that the State of Qatar is continuing with its reform efforts, stressing that HH the Emir has continuously talked up reform ever since he took over. HE Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor Al Thani denied the accusations that the State of Qatar sought to intervene in the affairs of Egypt or supported one party at the expense of another. His Excellency added "we are dealing with governments, not with individuals. He also denied all the accusations leveled at the State of Qatar that surfaced in some Egyptian media such as buying and renting the Suez Canal or the pyramids, stressing that Qatar did not discuss such issues. HE Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor Al Thani that when the subject of renting the pyramids was investigated it was found that a person from an Arab country sent a message to the Egyptian government proposing to give the pyramids on rent. "We did not discuss this and we did not speak even about it." He denied in the same context rumors about the purchase of Suez Canal. "We did not mention the Suez Canal and we did not talk about renting or buying the canal". HE the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister stressed Qatar's support to the Syrian people and it chairs the Arab Ministerial Committee on Syria doing what it could to help the Syrian people to restore its freedom. HE the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister expressed confidence that the Syrian revolution would win .. He said "things are moving in a way that leads to the victory of the Syrian people and this is what we wish." Regarding the initiative raised by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, HE Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim highlighted the keenness of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia to unify the Arabs and Muslims and that stressing the Arab leaders confidence on King Abdullah's vision and his sincere intentions. He referred in this context to the Arab peace initiative in 2002, which he launched at the Beirut summit and adopted by the Arab League. HE Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor Al Thani said that the initiative was creative and a chance for peace that Israelis had missed .. "This initiative is still the nucleus for resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict.", he added On the Qatari-Iraqi ties and the meeting of HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani with Iraqi Vice President on the sidelines of the Doha summit, HE the Premier and Foreign Minister stressed that the meeting was good, friendly and frank as Iraq is a sisterly country. On accusations that Qatar was supporting one political faction in Egypt over another, HE the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister said that Qatar was supportive of change in Egypt and Tunisia long before the Muslim Brotherhood took over. His Excellency added that Qatar began helping Egypt during the reign of the Supreme Council of Armed Forces right after the revolution, the same case was with Tunisia as Qatar supported them when Al Sabsi was the Prime Minister. His Excellency the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister added that Qatar respected both the ruling party and opposition in Egypt. His Excellency said that a lot of money was pumped into Egyptian media to turn the public against Qatar. HE Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor said that Qatar did not commit any crime in Egypt, but rather dealt with all the ruling parties after the revolution whether it was the Supreme Council of Armed Forces or the transitional government. HE the Prime Minister stressed that Egypt was much bigger than being bought with money and labeled the country as a bigger sister. HE the Prime Minister said that Qatar had some differences with other countries when it decided to back the revolutions from the off. It was even accused of trying to playing a role that did not fit Qatar's size, His Excellency added. HE the Prime Minister maintained that Qatar's strategy was finding a role for the entire Arab region, led by the bigger countries, that would benefit the entire Arab nation. On the issue of the joint Arab defense, HE Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor Al Thani said that there are types of defense, including defense before and after a crisis takes place, citing in this context the first effort taken by the Arab League when it sent Arab observer mission to Syria as a form of Arab defense but unfortunately the experiment did not succeed and no need to mention reasons behind its failure. In response to a question by Qatar News Agency (QNA) one whether granting Syria's seat at the Arab summit to the Syrian opposition would mean that the opposition can also take Syrian diplomatic missions in the Arab countries, His Excellency said that the Arab position was clear in recognizing the Syrian National Coalition and giving them the seat, adding that each member state has the right to take its own decision in this regard. On the issue of arming the Syrian opposition, he said we are talking about a political solution, not a peaceful solution. The use of 'political solution' term in the Geneva Declaration was clear in this regard, he said. "We believe that self-defense is something required and some Western countries are now beginning to call for arming the opposition," His Excellency added. For his part Arab League Secretary-General Dr. Nabil El Araby said that this year's summit dealt with the Palestinian issue as its number one priority. He highlighted the initiative to establish a fund to support Jerusalem worth one billion dollar as an important step. He praise HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani for pledging a quarter of that amount to the fund. El Araby said that the Arab League contacted all of the Security Council's member states, including US Secretary of State John Kerry, to find a solution to the Palestinian issue. A delegation from the Arab League will visit Washington at a later date to discuss the issue in length. Another important issue that the summit tackled was the Syrian crisis. El Araby stressed that a political solution to the crisis was the only way forward. El Araby said that arming the Syrian opposition was not an end to the political solution, adding that the Syrian regime buys weapons at every opportunity without being criticised as the regime was against a political solution. The Arab League Secretary-General said that arming of the opposition was a bid to provide them with the right to self-defense. The Arab League Chief said that the council formed a committee to study developing the Arab League, noting that the committee had prepared a report and presented to the ministerial committee. The Secretary-General also thanked the State of Qatar and HH the Emir for implementing pensions as part of the Arab League's development process. (END)