President and Foreign Minister attend oil summit

– expenses funded by Saudi Arabia

Heads of State and leaders of Arab and South American countries gathered on Monday for the opening session of the

Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir, along with other summit officials, attends a consultative meeting in Riyadh (Arab News photo)

two-day summit in Saudi Arabia, aimed at boosting trade, cultural exchange and economic partnerships. Guyana is being represented at the Summit by President David Granger and Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge. However, prior to their departure, Guyana’s agenda at the meeting was not disclosed to the public. According to the Ministry of the Presidency, Guyana’s delegation was flown to the summit courtesy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A number of world leaders are attending the summit, but the all-expenses paid courtesy was not extended to them. According to Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir, such a partnership “would not only benefit both sides, but also support the international sustainable development, within the framework of multilateral cooperation”. In his remarks at the summit, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon noted that Latin America has the biggest Arab Diaspora in the world and that several Latin American Presidents have been of Arab descent. Saudi King Salman, who greeted several dignitaries at the airport in the capital Riyadh, opened the summit by commending Latin American countries for their foreign policy stances, particularly with regard to Palestine. Latin American countries recognise a state of Palestine and several have strongly condemned Israel’s actions in Palestinian territories, including last year’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip. This is the fourth Arab-South American summit to bring together top officials from the Arab League’s 22 member states and 12 countries from South America. The meetings, held every three years, began in Brazil in 2005, followed by summits in Qatar and Peru. The summit of Heads of State was preceded by the Fourth Businessmen Forum of the Arab-South American Countries on Sunday. ASPA, which began in 2006, comprises the 22 members of the Arab League and the 12 members of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR). While the summit looks at means to bolster trade and cooperation, it also has a political component – such as jointly pushing for United Nations Security Council (UNSC) reform to expand the number of its permanent members. Brazil, a UNASUR member and attending the Riyadh Summit, has for years sought a permanent member seat at the UNSC. When the summits first began in 2006, trade between the two groups stood at $6 billion. In the eight years since, this has surged to $30 billion. It is hoped that President David Granger and Venezuelan President NicolÁs would meet at event. This could make way for another opportunity for the two Heads of Government to engage in bilateral discussions aimed at resolving the decades old dispute surrounding Venezuela’s claim on two-thirds of Guyana’s landmass, and rebuilding a functional diplomatic relationship.