The Arab Economic and Social Development summits () are summits of the Arab League, held at the
head of state level to address issues of economic and social development among member-states. The inaugural summit was held in 2009 in
Kuwait, and the second summit was held in
Egypt in 2011.
Background On 29 March 2007, resolution 365, proposed by Egypt and Kuwait and calling for a summit to address exclusively the economic and social development issues facing the
Arab world, was passed at the
Arab League summit in
Riyadh,
Saudi Arabia. In October 2007, the secretary-general appointed
Egyptian ambassador Mervat Tellawi the co-ordinator-general for the upcoming summit and established a management committee within the framework of the general secretariat of the Arab League, later renamed the
Development Summit Management Committee, that included the newly appointed co-ordinator-general, Mervat Tellawi, and various assistant secretaries-general of the Arab League. Coming almost immediately after the
Gaza War, the Arab media praised the summit for its success in reconciling the
Arab world, and various resolutions were passed "in solidarity with
Gaza". Among the other resolutions passed, there was a call for adopting necessary measures to establish an
Arab customs union as of 2010, to be fully operational by 2015, to ultimately establish an
Arab common market. Among the issues to be discussed is the proposed
Arab Plan of Action for Science and Technology, adopted at the 2009 summit, the implementation of which is being led by
UNESCO and its Arab equivalent, the
Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO).
2013 summit The 2013 summit was held in the
Saudi capital city of
Riyadh.
2019 summit The 2019 summit was to be held in the
Lebanese capital of
Beirut on 19–20 March 2019. The speaker of the
Parliament of Lebanon Nabih Berri called to invite
Syria back to the summit, which has caused major turmoil in the
Arab League. The highly controversial summit has stirred tensions between
Libya and the Lebanese
Amal movement, stemming from the disappearance of
Mussa Sadr, the Amal Movement's founder, who vanished along with his companions on August 31, 1978, in Libya while on an official visit.
2023 summit The 2023 summit was held in the
Saudi city of
Jeddah on 14–15 May 2023 as a preliminary meeting before
2023 Arab League Summit. The main goal of the summit was to secure the right circumstances to achieve economic stability and development in the region while highlighting the different initiatives it has launched be it related to food security or climate-action.
Syria participated at the summit for the first time since 2011. == References ==