Tripoli, 24 March 2013:
The Foreign Minister Mohamed Abdulaziz has said that the Arab League is in urgent need of modernisation and . . .[restrict]reform.
Speaking on the sidelines of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Doha today, Sunday, he said that reform had to be institutional and rules and procedures had to be changed to respond to the challenges that now exist in the Arab world – political, economic and social.
The Arab League was founded in 1945 but is seen by many in the Arab world as largely ineffective. Ironically, despite Abdulaziz’s call, its first recent real political success was during the Libya revolution when it rallied Arab support for the no-fly zone in the Libyan skies which was then put to the UN. The fact that when in the Security Council the no-fly motion had Arab League support made it difficult for Russia and China to veto it.
On Tuesday, Arab heads of state and government will follow up the foreign minsters’ meeting with an Arab summit in the Qatari capital. Prime Minister Ali Zeidan is expected to leave for Doha tomorrow, Monday, with a large delegation. [/restrict]
