25 Jun 2010

Arab League to set up Pacific office

1:09 pm on 25 June 2010

Arab League nations have promised to open an office in the Pacific to boost trade, economic and investment cooperation between the two regions.

Leaders of the Pacific Small Island Developing States attended a summit held in Abu Dhabi at the invitation of the United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, after his Pacific visit in February.

The Gulf News reports that Sheikh Abdullah urged strenghtening diplomatic ties between the Arab countries and the Pacific Islands to cope with the shortage in food, water scarcity and climate change.

Outcomes from the summit include setting up a new Arab-Pacific Cooperation Forum based in the United Arab Emirates, opening an office of the Arab League States in the Pacific and drawing up a five-year action plan for development.

The two parties also agreed to support international efforts to establish a nuclear weapons free zone in the Middle East.