Leaders expected to back Sudan's Al Bashir

Doha: Amid tight security arrangements, the 21st Arab summit opens in Doha on Monday and will seek to give backing to Sudan over an international arrest warrant for its president and repair a growing Arab rift on key regional issues, such as Palestinian divisions and Iran's military backing of militant groups.

While the Arab-Israeli conflict and growing concern over the Iranian nuclear issue are on the agenda, the focus of the summit seems to be overshadowed by the International Criminal Court's (ICC) arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir and whether or not he would be attending.

Sources at the summit told Gulf News that Arab countries were “making every effort'' to have the Sudanese president attend.

“(Some Arab countries) are even willing to send a plane to bring him to the summit,'' the source said.

Arab foreign ministers demanded at the conclusion of their preparatory meetings Saturday's evening, the “cancelling the measures by the ICC''. It also urged all Arab countries against cooperating with the measures'', AFP quoted the draft statement as saying.

Mubarak stays home

While the summit is to have massive participation, one key player, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak did not show up casting doubt on initial optimism over the summit to solve critical issues.

Qatari Prime Minister Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jaber Al Thani, in a press conference held late on Saturday evening, said that Doha respects Cairo's decision.

“The level of the representation is up to the Egyptians,'' he said.

Egypt's delegation to the summit will be headed by the Minister of legal and parliamentarian affairs Mufeed Shehab.

As for the Qatari-Egyptian relations, the Qatari Premier added, “I can't say they are excellent'', but the bilateral relations have long and deep roots. Egypt is a big Arab country, and we respect it.''

While no official reason was given for the absence of Mubarak from the summit, many analysts explained it was due to “continuous'' differences which have emerged during the recent Israeli war on Gaza and an emergency regional summit held in Doha three days ahead of last January's Arab economic summit in Kuwait.

The Iranian Question

As for Iran, Shaikh Jaber shrugged off some Arab states' concerns over Qatar's relations with the non-Arab state.

“Qatar doesn't take permission from any side for its relations with Iran or any other country. It also doesn't give its approval for anybody's relations with others,'' he said.

Prior to Doha summit, some press reports said that some Arab countries warned that they would send low-level delegations to the meeting in case Iranian president Ahamdinejad was invited.

Many Arab countries accuse Iran of interfering in many parts of the region including Lebanon, Iraq and the Palestinian territories. They also include Tehran of planning to play a bigger role and have a greater say in the Arab affairs.

Doha has earlier invited Ahmadinejad to the 2007 Summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and to last January's summit on Gaza. With Hamas attending the summit, the Palestinian Authority did not show up.

Realising the sensitivity of the issue, a smiling Shaikh Jaber told reporters that Qatar “will never again'' invite Iranian President Ahmadinejad or Hamas.

However, Iran is expected to send its Foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki to attend the Doha summit as a “observer''. Mottaki has also attended the Arab summit held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in 2007 also as an observer.

Hamas, which is engaged in a reconciliation talks with the Palestinian Authority, was not invited to Doha Summit.

Held in Qatar's landmark Sheraton Hotel overlooking the Gulf waters, Doha summit is the second Arab summit to be held in an Arab Gulf state, after Saudi Arabia in 2007, since the establishment of the Arab summits in 1964.

Security arrangements taken inside and the roads leading to the hotel are also very tight as well as the hotel entrance where delegates and journalists are staying .

Several hundreds of journalists flew in to Doha to cover the summit.

Among the absent Arab leaders from the summit include Iraqi president Jalal Talabni for health reasons; Omani Leader Sultan Qaboos bin Saeed, and King Mohamed of Morocco.