Arab summit opens in Tunisia

By Adel al-Thabeti

TUNIS (AA) – Arab leaders opened their annual summit in the Tunisian capital, Tunis, on Sunday.

Only 13 Arab leaders are attending the one-day summit, including Saudi King Salman, Qatar's emir Tamim bin Hamad, Tunisia's Beji Caid Essebsi and Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, according to information compiled by Anadolu Agency.

Other attending leaders include Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad of Kuwait and King Abdullah II of Jordan as well as the leaders of Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen, Mauritania and Djibouti.

Libya is also represented by the head of the country's presidential council Fayez al-Sarraj.

Meanwhile, eight leaders are absent from the summit; most notably Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, Algeria's Abdelaziz Bouteflika, Omani Sultan Qaboos bin Said and Moroccan King Mohammed VI.

War-torn Syria is not represented by any official at the summit as the country's Arab League membership has been frozen since 2011.

The summit’s agenda is expected also to tackle recent Israeli escalations against the Hamas-run Gaza Strip; ongoing crises in Libya, Yemen and Sudan; alleged Iranian interference in Arab affairs; and the fight against terrorism.