Egypt, S. Arabia focus on Palestine in EU-Arab Summit

<p>By Aydogan Kalabalik</p> <p>CAIRO (AA) – Top Egyptian and Saudi leaders focused on Palestine during a summit on Sunday between Arab and EU countries.</p> <p> Making the summits inaugural speech at the summit held in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm al Sheikh, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called for a comprehensive resolution of the Palestinian issue.</p> <p> He stressed that regional powers had a role in the inability to resolve the conflicts in Libya and Yemen during the summit themed, &quot;Investment in Stability.&quot;</p> <p> For his part, Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz said Palestine was the &quot;priority&quot; of Arab nations, adding that his country wanted a peaceful resolution to the Yemeni conflict under an initiative by Gulf states.</p> <p> Abdulaziz called for joint international action against Iran, which he condemned for &quot;launching ballistic missiles to Saudi soil and threatening Red Sea security.&quot;</p> <p>The first EU-Arab summit opened in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Sunday amid a high turnout from European officials.</p> <p>The two-day summit, however, will see a low-level representation from half of Arab countries, according to official statements and Arab media outlets.</p> <p>Leaders of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, Palestine, Tunisia, Yemen, Libya, Somalia, and Djibouti are expected to participate in the meeting.</p> <p>Delegations of Lebanon and Morocco will be led by the prime ministers, while Jordan, Sudan, Mauritania and Comoros will be represented by the foreign ministers.</p> <p>Qatar's delegate to the Cairo-based Arab League Ibrahim al-Sahlawi will lead the Gulf state’s delegation to the summit, while the United Arab Emirates is represented by the governor of its Fujairah region.</p> <p>Germany has yet to make a statement on its absence on the summit’s first day while a French delegate also did not attend&quot;</p>