Somalia attends Fourth Summit of South American-Arab Countries

Somalia attends Saudi hosting Fourth Summit of South American-Arab Countries, aiming to strengthen ties between the countries.

A delegation led Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has jetted off to Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia where President Hassan is expected to the conference.

The opening of the Fourth Summit of South American-Arab Countries is set to begin on Wednesday.

Among the leaders reached Saudi Arabia are the President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela, whose country belongs to the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries along with Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, President Rafael Correa of Ecuador, OPEC’s smallest member, also arrived.

Arab presidents who arrived included Omar Al Bashir of Sudan, Abdel Fattah Al Sisi of Egypt and Fuad Masum of Iraq, as well as Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Gulf rulers and King Abdullah II of Jordan, state media said.

Ahead of the two-day meeting, Sudanese Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour said windows of cooperation have long existed “but haven’t been open enough to take advantage of the capabilities” of both regions.

For example, Sudan has land and water “that could enable it to become the Arab and South American food basket”.

The summit between the 22 Arab League members and 12 nations from South America was first held in 2005 and the gatherings were an initiative of then Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, whose country hosted the first summit.