Your Majesty King Abdullah II of the sisterly Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan;

Your Majesty, Highness and Excellency

Kings, Presidents and Emirs of Arab countries and governments;

Your Excellency Mr. Ahmed Abul Gheit

The Secretary General of the Arab League;

Ladies and gentlemen;

May Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon you

I would like in the beginning to express all thanks and appreciation to His Majesty King Abdullah II of the sisterly Hashemite kingdom of Jordan for the hospitality and warm reception and for the sincere efforts that were exerted to render this important summit a success for achieving the best interests of our Arab nation.

I would like also to confirm to His Majesty Egypt's full support during his chairmanship of the Arab Summit. I have all confidence in his experience and wisdom that will contribute to enhancing relations among the Arab countries.

It also gives me great pleasure to extend all gratitude and thanks to His Excellency President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz of the Republic of Mauritania for his efforts and the efforts of his sisterly country during his chairmanship of the previous session of the Arab Summit.

Your Majesty, Highness and Excellency

Our summit is held today while the whole region is confronting immense challenges that are targeting the unity and cohesion of the Arab countries and their territorial integrity and threatening the potentials of their peoples and their higher interests. This summit is held while our peoples are looking forward to a strong stance that would restore the unity of the Arab ranks to stand up firmly against the dangers that became threatening our region in the past few years and led to weakening the Arab body so that it is suffering from several divisions. We are now required to confront these challenges through a clear vision and strong determination on boosting our national security and preserving the future of the coming generations of our sons and daughters.

Dear brothers;

The new challenges that plagued our Arab nation over the past few years were represented in the spread of terrorism and its growing danger along with enfeebling the entity of the national State and defying its basic idea as a homeland for all its sons and place in which various cultures, sects and ideologies mingle to constitute one loyalty to one homeland. Therefore, we have seen that stability was lost when the national institutions became weak. We have seen the spread of intimidating innocent people when sectarian and ideological conflicts replaced co-existence and when foreign interferences in the affairs of countries and the future of their peoples increased. Obnoxious terrorism immediately seized the opportunity and worked to fill in this vacuum which resulted from the failure of institutions of these countries to undertake their basic role in maintaining security and applying the law.

Terrorism increased and threatened the lives of millions of people in our Arab nation and in the whole world. It became a global phenomenon that can not be tolerated or accepted under any pretext. The relation between terrorism and threatening the very entity of the national State became closely associated to each other.

The more terrorism becomes strong the more the national State becomes weak and the more the national State becomes weak the more terrorism would spread. Therefore, we are required to work on two parallel tracks at the same time; fighting terrorism firmly and at the same time exerting all efforts for settling the current crises in the region for restoring stability and security through empowering and enhancing the institutions of the national State to undertake their job properly.

It is no secret that fighting terrorism is not that easy task. Terrorism is like a malignant disease that penetrates stealthily into the fabric of the countries and societies and disguises with all meanness and ignobility. Therefore, fighting terrorism should be via adopting a comprehensive approach starting with the military confrontation and continues to cover working for improving the development and economic conditions in our countries in a viable and prompt way along with confronting the extremist thought at the religious, ideological and cultural levels through upgrading the educational system and boosting the role of our great religious institutions atop of which come Al-Azhar Al-Sherif for refuting the extremist ideas that are spread by terrorist organizations. These efforts are meant to create an all-out and integrated intellectual and cultural system for spreading and holding high the tolerant values of religion and spreading the principles of citizenship, tolerance and co-existence. This way our societies will become virtually strong and there will be no room once again for the forces of darkness to grow or spread.

Your Majesty, Highness and Excellency;

It is regrettable that some forces are using these unprecedented conditions through which our region is passing to enhance their influence and impose their control. These forces have meddled in the affairs of the Arab countries under different pretexts and names either through political, security or military interferences that do not scruple to undermine the institutions of these countries or jeopardize their territorial integrity and safety of their peoples for attaining their own goals.

I tell you frankly and honestly that we should all take a decisive and clear stance on these interferences driving home a clear-cut message that we do not allow any power whatsoever to interfere in our affairs and that all attempts for imposing religious or ideological hegemony or creating areas of influence inside any Arab territory will be confronted by a unified and strong Arab stance that is determined to protect the institutions of the national State and that is capable to defend the potentials of the Arab peoples and fulfill their rights to decent life and development.

Dear brothers;

The most clear case of crises facing our region, is the continued crisis of the dear and brotherly Syrian people and their immense humanitarian suffering while they are confronting huge challenges in achieving their legitimate aspirations for freedom, dignity and justice at a time when terrorism and ideological and sectarian polarization are growing in all parts of the Syrian State, which is witnessing unprecedented foreign interferences in its own affairs and in the potentials of its people.

Despite the severity of the tragedy, the past few weeks have seen a positive development that is represented in resuming negotiations in Geneva after almost one year of hiatus. Also an agreement was reached on a practical agenda of the talks sending a ray of hope for ending the futile argument and counter argument over procedural issues and starting discussion of the core of the problem and opportunities for settling it on the basis of the related United Nations resolutions.

Allow me to confirm on this score that the political solution to the Syrian crisis is the only avenue that is capable to achieve the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people and restoring the unity of Syria and its territorial integrity along with maintaining its national institutions and uprooting the danger of terrorism and extremist organizations. It is also capable to provide a suitable atmosphere for its reconstruction.

Egypt has been, and is still, contributing to all international efforts for settling the Syrian crisis out of its national and historical responsibility. Egypt will remain sticking to the political solution via negotiations and to supporting the track that is led by the United Nations in Geneva.

Your Majesty, Highness and Excellency;

The Libyan crisis has been lingering for the sixth year now. It is no secret that Egypt is very much interested in restoring stability to this sisterly country with which Egypt has direct neighborly relations and time-honored popular bonds. Although the Libyan brothers have reached a political agreement in Skhirat in 2015 for ending the crisis, difference is still there on the mechanisms and means of implementing it. This state of affairs attest to the importance of maintaining more efforts for encouraging the brothers in Libya to outline a viable formula for implementing the political agreement and continuing discussions about the specific pending points and issues that are required to be discussed for reaching an agreement by the Libyan parties.

Egypt will spare no effort for supporting a Libyan solution through negotiations. It will maintain cooperation with Libya neighboring countries and regional and international parties along with the United Nations and the Arab League for pushing forward the track of political settlement without any foreign interference until the brotherly Libyan people would be able to restore their stability and security and uproot terrorism and extremism and preserve the unity of the Libyan lands and its territorial integrity.

Ladies and gentlemen;

Efforts of the forces of darkness and terrorism to undermine the national State in all parts of the Arab nation are still continuing. More, their threat extended over the past few years to reach sisterly Yemen which is still suffering from calls of sectarian and ideological polarization.

Egypt is renewing its commitment to supporting Yemen and its legitimate institutions. Egypt is also eager to extend humanitarian assistance and ensure and guarantee the freedom of navigation in Bab el-Mandab Strait and the Red Sea. Egypt also underlines the importance of accelerating the resumption of negotiations to reach a political solution on the basis of the United Nations Security Council resolutions and the Gulf Initiative along with the outcome of the national dialogue.

On the other hand, sisterly Iraq is bravely confronting terrorism and the forces of darkness. I would like to assert on this score our full support for sisterly Iraq in its war against extremism. The brave Iraqi people have achieved much progress towards restoring the control of the national State and became so close to declare the liberation of all areas that were seized by terrorists.

Egypt holds that the battle of the sisterly Iraq against Daesh is the battle of all of us. We are fighting in this battle to preserve our identity and the future of our sons and their right to live in a secure and stable homeland that embraces diversity and rejects extremism and holds high the values of tolerance and accepting the other. Despite the importance of Iraq's success in its battle against terrorism in Mosul, current strenuous efforts for achieving national and societal rapprochement by all the components of the Iraqi people are necessary for restoring the national State. Egypt will support all efforts for achieving these two goals as it welcomes any step that would help restore normal relations between Iraq and its sisterly Arab countries in a way that restore to this major country its natural role in the Arab national security system and joint Arab action.

Your Majesty, Highness and Excellency;

The Palestinian cause will remain our first and central cause in the mind and heart of all Arabs. It is regrettable that this issue remain too difficult to be settled over several decades now. With the continuation of this situation which we all reject, the Arab nation and the world at large are suffering from intensified crises.

Egypt has been, and is still, working to help reach a just and comprehensive solution to this issue that is based on setting up a Palestinian State on the borders of 1967 with Al-Quds as its capital. Egypt has offered so much for supporting the Palestinian people and ending the occupation and suffering of this brotherly people out of its responsibility towards this cause and towards its Arab and Islamic nation. Egypt is also working seriously through its contacts with all regional and international parties concerned to resume serious negotiations for reaching a just solution guaranteeing the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people in accordance with the agreed-upon international bases and terms of reference.

Egypt is renewing its full commitment to continuing its efforts for reaching a solution to this issue that is based on the stance of the Arab countries on establishing peace in this dear part of the Arab lands on the basis of the Arab Peace Initiative and in a way that would enhance stability in all parts of the region and the world at large to contribute to the start of a genuine development process that is meeting the aspirations of all the Arab peoples and their hopes for a prosperous and decent life.

Your Majesty, Highness and Excellency;

Egypt holds that the joint Arab action is the basis of settling all issues and crises through which our region is passing. Out of this premise, Egypt, in its capacity as the Arab representative in the Security Council, worked last year for coordinating stances of the Arab countries and shedding light on the issues of concern to the region for placing them on top of the priorities of the international community.

The revival of the Arab body became a necessity for standing up to the dangers besetting the nation. The institutions of the joint Arab action are indispensable for attaining that goal. Atop of these institutions comes the Arab League which worked since its establishment to achieve the interests of the Arab countries and their peoples.

Within this framework, Egypt confirms its full support for the efforts of the secretary general for promoting and amending the Arab League with a view to restoring coordination among its member-states and enhancing the joint Arab action for preserving the unity of ranks of the Arab countries that share the same goals and aspirations.

In conclusion, I have nothing to say but to thank once again my brother His Majesty King Abdullah II of the sisterly Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan for hosting the Arab Summit which we all hope would contribute to outlining a new reality and better future for all the Arab people.

May Allah guide all of us to the path of good and welfare of our countries and peoples.

Thank you.