Syria Rejoins Arab League After 12-Year Absence
Foreign Ministers of the Arab League member states held a closed-door meeting in Cairo, Egypt, to discuss various issues before the upcoming Arab League Summit in Saudi Arabia. The foreign ministers of the member countries voted to allow Syria to return to the union after a 12-year hiatus. However, the decision was conditional on Syria taking steps to resolve the civil war in the country. The official statement by the Arab League and Egypt is yet to be released.
Syria’s membership in the Arab League was suspended in 2011 after President Bashar Assad ordered a crackdown on anti-government activists. In recent news, Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi made a historical visit to Syria on May 3. Tehran sent its foreign or other ministers to Damascus in previous years, but this was the first time they made a visit at the head of state.
The Arab League has 22 members, including Palestine, which it recognizes as an independent state. The union’s agenda, during its establishment, was the liberation of the still colonial Arab states and to prevent the Jewish community in Palestine from establishing a Jewish state. However, the effectiveness of the Arab League has always been the subject of discussion due to the disagreements between its members on regional and global issues.
The Arab League Summit is scheduled to be held in Saudi Arabia on May 19.
