March 27-28, 2001

The Jordanian capital hosted the 13th Ordinary Session of the Arab League Conference, attended by fifteen heads of state from the 22 member countries (seven countries were represented by senior delegates). Prime Minister Hariri flew to Amman to take part in the summit, a month after his previous visit to the city.

In a show of Arab support, Arab leaders ended the summit with pledges of more financial support for the Palestinians, “who have been bankrupted by the uprising against Israel.”

However, their efforts to narrow the differences between Iraq and Kuwait failed. BBC correspondents say the summit had been working on a compromise involving the two sides. In the subsequent Amman Declaration, participants pledged to work towards the lifting of sanctions on Iraq.

The summit saw the reconciliation of Palestinian leader Arafat with the Syrian leadership.

The meeting appointed Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa as its new secretary-general to replace Mr. Abdel-Meguid, when his mandate expires in May.

In his closing statement, King Abdallah hoped “this summit will be a new beginning and a fundamental positive change in joint Arab action,” and saw it as “a promising achievement that strengthens our confidence in the future.”