by Zhu Lei, Lin Liping

    KUWAIT CITY, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Arab leaders on Tuesday agreed to help rebuild the war-battered Gaza Strip and promote Arab economic and social development amid rifts exposed by the Israeli offensive on the Palestinian territory.

    Leaders of the 22-member Arab League (AL), winding up the first-ever economic summit, approved a declaration calling for steps to accelerate economic integration in the Arab world: to launch a customs union in 2010, to speed up the construction of a pan-Arab power grid and to set up a rail network project.

    The Arab leaders pledged continuous support for national financial institutions to contribute to stability of the global financial situation and called on governors of central banks to coordinate policies to get out of the financial crisis, said the declaration, read out by AL Secretary General Amr Moussa.

    Arab countries have lost 2.5 trillion dollars due to the global

    financial turmoil, Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammad al-Sabah said last week.

    Arab leaders also announced the establishment of an Arab fund with capital of 2 billion dollars to provide loans and assistance for Arab joint projects.

    Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah announced the 2-billion-dollar Arab initiative to finance small and medium-sized enterprises and private sector projects, adding that Kuwait alone will contribute 500 million dollars.

    RIFTS OVER GAZA, NO QUICK SOLUTION

    Due to the Israeli assault, the Gaza crisis dominated the first Arab economic summit, initially designed for Arab states to sidestep their political rifts and focus on Arab development.

    Arab leaders called for continuing humanitarian assistance to some 1.5 million Gazans suffering from three weeks of massive Israeli offensive, which has killed more than 1,300 Palestinians.

    They vowed to provide financial and technical support for rebuilding infrastructure and improve living standards of Palestinians in the besieged strip.

    But the final declaration stopped short of mentioning a highly-expected Arab fund worth 2 billion U.S. dollars for the post-war reconstruction process of the Palestinian enclave.

    During the inauguration of the summit on Monday, Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz announced his country's contribution of 1 billion dollars to the fund and called on Arab countries to heal internal division in face of the Israeli aggression.

    Arab countries are mired in deep rifts over how to address the Gaza crisis, with some nations calling for tough action while others opt for a more moderate approach.

    The split was highlighted when Egypt and Saudi Arabia, close allies with the United States, stayed away from an emergency summit called by Doha.

    Qatar, the only Gulf Arab state with ties to Israel, hastily hosted an emergency summit on Friday though it did not secure the quorum of two thirds of AL members required for a formal Arab summit.

    A day before the Doha summit, the Saudi king even assembled leaders of six Gulf Arab countries for an emergency summit in a move seen to pre-empt Qatar's bid.

    AL chief Moussa, during the past days, has rhetorically appealed to Arab leaders to overcome differences and underlined Arab unity in face of the Gaza crisis and other serious challenges.

    In a bid to restore unity, the Saudi king on Monday hosted a lunch attended by the leaders of Qatar, Jordan, Egypt, Syria and Kuwait at which they agreed to patch up their differences over Gaza, according to a Kuwaiti source.

    Yet Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told Kuwaiti television that Arab foreign ministers failed to reach a common stance on Gaza during a closed-door session on the sidelines of the summit on Tuesday.

    Zebari said the foreign ministers were "regrettably" unable to reach a common stance due to shortage of time "and the uncompromising stances taken by some countries."

    Some countries needed to make "compromises" in order to reach a unified stance, he said, adding that efforts to reconcile would continue after the high-level Kuwaiti economic summit, which attracted 17 heads of state, in addition to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. 

Moussa: Arab League to coordinate funds for Gaza reconstruction

    KUWAIT CITY, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa said on Tuesday the pan-Arab bloc will coordinate the transfer of funds into the Palestinian Gaza Strip for its reconstruction following three weeks of Israeli massive offensive.

    Moussa told a press conference after the closing session of the first Arab Economic, Social and Development Summit that the funds will be primarily used for the reconstruction in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip. Full story

Arab summit concludes with resolutions on Gaza, Arab development

    KUWAIT CITY, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- The First Arab Economic Summit concluded here Tuesday afternoon, with adoption of resolutions on Gaza crisis and steps to promote Arab economic and social development.

    The resolutions, read out by Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa at the summit's closing session, underscored the importance of reconstruction efforts in the Gaza Strip through a rehabilitation and construction program in coordination with the Palestinian National Authority. Full story