DOHA, March 30 (Xinhua) -- The 2009 Arab League (AL) summit opened in the Qatari capital of Doha on Monday. The two-day summit is the 21st of its kind since the AL, formally called the League of Arab States, was founded in 1945.
The following is a brief introduction to the organization: ¡¡
On March 22, 1945, at the suggestion of Egypt, the leaders of seven Arab countries met in Cairo and decided to form the League and adopt its Charter. The League currently has 22 members.
The AL is a national and regional organization that seeks to promote closer ties among member states and coordinate their policies and their economic, cultural and security plans with a view to developing collective cooperation, protecting national security and maintaining the independence and sovereignty of member states, thereby enhancing the potential for joint Arab action in all fields.
The Summit of the Heads of Arab States is the League's highest organ of power, and also the Arab world's top-level forum devoted to the discussion of major regional issues.
In October 2000, a special summit of heads of Arab states decided to make the summit an annual event. Through institutions such as the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALESCO) and the Economic and Social Council of the Arab League's Council of Arab Economic Unity (CAEU), the AL facilitates political, economic, cultural, scientific and social programs designed to promote the interests of the Arab world.
It has also served as a forum for the member states to coordinate their policy positions, to deliberate on matters of common concern, to settle some Arab disputes, and to limit conflicts such as the 1958 Lebanon crisis.
The AL has served as a platform for the drafting and conclusion of many landmark documents promoting economic integration.
The following is a chronology of the past 20 AL summits:
-- January 1964, Cairo, Egypt: Called by late Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, the first Arab summit denounced an Israeli plan to divert waters of the Jordan River and recognized the need to set up the headquarters of the AL and create a Palestinian entity.
-- September 1964, Alexandria, Egypt: According to a communiqu¨¦ released after the summit, the AL decided to immediately implement a plan to utilize the water of the Jordan River and its tributaries, recognized the founding of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and ratified a resolution on setting up a Palestinian army.
-- September 1965, Casablanca, Morocco: A pact was signed on solidarity and coexistence among Arab countries.
-- August 1967, Khartoum, Sudan: After the defeat in the 1967 Middle East war, the Arab world hit back with the "Three Nos" principle, namely, no negotiation, no reconciliation and no recognition with and of Israel.
-- December 1969, Rabat, Morocco: The meeting agreed to pool the potentials of the Arab states to fight against invasion, reinforce the Palestinian liberation movement, and support the struggle of the Arabs in the occupied territories.
-- November 1973, Algiers, Algeria: After the October Middle East War and the Egyptian armed forces' victory in Sinai, Arab states for the first time raised their terms for peace: Israeli withdrawal from all occupied territories.
-- October 1974, Rabat, Morocco: The Arab summit recognized the PLO as the "sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people" and the right of the Palestinians to "establish an independent national authority."
-- October 1976, Cairo, Egypt: Arab leaders discussed the Lebanon crisis and extended support to the Palestinian liberation movement headed by the PLO.
-- November 1978, Baghdad, Iraq: Convened in the absence of Egypt, which launched a peace process with Israel, the summit rejected the Camp David accords.
-- November 1979, Tunis, Tunisia: A majority of the Arab leaders stressed the need to strengthen solidarity of the Arab world and remove divergence.
-- November 1980, Amman, Jordan: Participants declared their support for the cause of the liberation of Palestine, decided to cut diplomatic ties with all countries which regarded Jerusalem as the Israeli capital or moved their embassies to Jerusalem.
-- November 1981, Fez, Morocco: The summit debated a Saudi peace plan but failed to reach agreement. After being postponed for 10 months, the summit was resumed in September of the following year, when Arab leaders adopted an Arab peace plan sponsored by Saudi Arabia.
-- March 2001, Amman, Jordan: The first summit in more than a decade discussed the Palestinian issue and the Middle East peace process. A final declaration called on Arab states to realize national reconciliation and Arab solidarity and to speed up economic integrity.
-- March 2002, Beirut, Lebanon: The summit discussed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the attending countries adopted a proposal offering a comprehensive peace between the Arab countries and Israel, that is, the Arab Peace Initiative, or the Arab Peace Initiative. The plan calls for Israel to withdraw completely to pre-1967 borders; supports the 'right of return' for all Palestinian refugees and their descendants; and the creation of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
-- March 2003, Sharm-al-Shiek, Egypt, Arab leaders at the 15th summit discussed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
-- May 22-23, 2004, the 16th Arab summit was held in Tunis, Tunisia.
-- March 2005, Algiers, Algeria, the summit decided to re-launch the 2002 initiative.
-- March 2006, the 18th Arab Summit was held in Kartoum, Sudan.
-- March 2007, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Arab leaders met at the 19th summit.
-- March 2008, Damasusus, Syria, the 20th Arab Summit, discussed the Palestinian cause, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the Arab Peace Initiative, the occupied Golan Heights, and the developments in Iraq.
