UPDATE – Annual Arab summit opens in Algeria

UPDATES WITH DETAILS

By Hassan Jibril

ALGIERS, Algeria (AA) – The 31st Arab summit kicked off in the Algerian capital, Algiers, on Tuesday.

The two-day summit is the first to be held since 2019 due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.

Sixteen Arab presidents are taking part in the summit, including the leaders of Algeria, Tunisia, Qatar, Sudan and Egypt.

Moroccan King Mohammed VI had skipped the summit. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman did not attend due to “health reasons.”

The Arab summit is also attended by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

Tunisia was the last country to host the summit in 2019.

* Ikram Imane Kouachi contributed to this report