Mogherini to League of Arab States: Only common response to terrorism can bring results

December 20, 2016
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“Today we share a feeling of sadness and mutual condolences, as we see innocent victims falling in Berlin, in Jordan, in Cairo, in Ankara with the assassination of the Russian Ambassador [Andrei Karlov].”  With these words the EU High Representative Federica Mogherini opened the 4th European Union-League of Arab States meeting, this morning in Cairo. Only “a common response to the terrorist violence can bring results, for the sake of civilians across our region,” Mogherini stressed.

 
More than ever Europe and the Arab world “have to show determination to jointly prevent and fight terrorism in our territories and globally.”
 
The High Representative described the EU-LAS meeting as something more than a “bi-regional summit,” because – she said – “we share the same region. What happens in Syria, in Libya or even in Yemen has a direct impact on Europe. And the European Union is an essential partner for growth, peace and stability in the Arab world.”
 
On Syria, the High Representative said: “Peace requires justice for all Syrians and a genuine, inclusive political transition.” All regional players have to be involved “to turn a proxy war into a proxy peace.”
 
“It is time to move beyond old and new dividing lines,” she insisted, and work on “a positive agenda, to invest together on our youth, to create jobs, to achieve participation in our societies.”
 
In the margins of the meeting, Mogherini agreed upon new instruments for cooperation with Egypt and Jordan. Mogherini’s agenda in Cairo also included bilateral meetings with the Secretary General of the League of Arab States, Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, the Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, the Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari and the Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry.
 
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Photo © European Union, 2016

 

Countries covered:

  • Egypt
Thematics
Human Rights