Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Riyad Malki, said today that it is time for a new formulation in the relationship between the Arab countries and the Pacific countries, which include: Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Fiji, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Niue, Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, and Cook Islands. Addressing the second session of the ministerial meeting between the Arab countries and the countries of the Pacific islands, whose work began today in the Saudi capital, Riyadh in the presence of the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, and the Minister of State of the Republic of Palau Gustav Aitaro, Chairman of the Pacific Community, Malki stressed the importance of the meeting because ‘it constitutes a meeting with a bloc of a group of countries that are geographically far from us and most of which do not cooperate with us politically,’ adding that ‘we are trying to get close to the Pacific island countries despite the distances between us.’ He thanked the efforts of Saudi Arabia to get to know more and get closer to these countries in order to create good relations and common interests. ‘We are with this effort and this position, which is why we came today with this positive spirit that we hope will resonate with the Pacific countries,’ he said, criticizing the countries that voted against Palestinian rights at the United Nations. The participants affirmed support for reaching a permanent and comprehensive peace in the Middle East and a just solution to the Palestinian issue on the basis of international law and relevant United Nations resolutions, the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002, and the two-state solution, leading to the end of the Israeli occupation and the independence of the State of Palestine on the lines of 04 June. 1967, and its capital is East Jerusalem. They stressed the importance of preserving the existing historical and legal status of the Islamic and Christian holy places in Jerusalem unaltered, and the importance of the Hashemite custodianship.
Source: En – Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA