DOHA // The Arab League summit may have lasted just a day, but it grabbed the headlines nonetheless thanks to the tirade against Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah by the Libyan leader, Muammar Qadafi.
But for all its colour, some analysts say when the summit ended a day earlier than expected on Monday evening it lacked any significant conclusions.
Although there were calls for the Middle East to be free of nuclear weapons, concerns over Iran's nuclear programme were not dealt with explicitly. Similarly, comments on the importance of a time frame in dealings with Israel over the 2002 Arab peace initiative were not accompanied by any actual time frame.
The summit did however lead to strong backing for the Sudanese president, Omar al Bashir, who is facing an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court and whose participation in the summit was a major talking point before he flew in on Sunday. According to Mazhar al Zoby, a professor of politics at Qatar University, there was an absence of "serious, coherent and consolidated outcomes" because of rifts within the 22-member league.
"The lack of outcomes reflects the seriousness of divisions," he said.
The rift between what Prof al Zoby described as "moderate states" and "oppositional states" came to the fore in the differing responses from Arab countries following Israel's offensive in Gaza in late December, and has not been resolved by the summit.
"It is between those who see the Israeli occupation as the problem and those who see the opposition to the Israeli occupation as the problem," he said, adding that related disagreements on how to deal with Iran and the Palestinian group, Hamas, had similarly not been tackled.
"There are deep divisions that have not been reconciled," he said. "It is not surprising nothing has come out of this."
Indeed Hosni Mubarak, the president of Egypt, who has had differences with Qatar over its response to the Israeli offensive, and its closeness to Hamas, failed to attend the summit, although 17 other heads of state were present.
If it is to prove more effective at subsequent summits, the Arab League should focus on fewer issues and give itself achievable objectives, said Hady Amr, the director of the Brookings Doha Centre in Qatar.
"In the 64 years since the creation of the Arab League, it has accomplished disappointingly little to improve the lives and enhance the dignity of the people of the Arab world," he said.
He said the average person on the street would probably not be able to point to a single achievement of the league.
"It's not a criticism of [the Arab League's secretary general] Amr Moussa; it's a criticism of the states that have not come together to solve the common problems of the people of the Arab world.
"They have not been able to solve the national crises of Palestine, Iraq or Somalia. They have not created dignity, education or health care for the people of the Arab world," Mr Amr said.
"It's a shame. The Arab League could do so much more if, working together, the members were to select one problem and focus on it."
Not all analysts have taken such a downbeat message from this week's gathering. Ibrahim Oweiss of Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service in Qatar sees cause for optimism.
He said personal relationships between leaders that had "suffered in the past couple of years" had been improved by the summit, as shown by the meeting of Sheikh Abdullah and Mr Qadafi after the Libyan leader's outburst.
"Also, they specifically mentioned that the Arab peace initiative will not remain on the table forever and so they are searching among themselves and through the foreign ministries for what strategy if any they will be able to pursue," he said.
"That's an important point that came out of the summit."
Next year's summit is set to be held in Libya, after Iraq declined its option to host the event for what were described as "logistical reasons", but suggesting it would be ready to host the event in 2011.
Hoshyar Zebari, the Iraqi foreign minister, said "logistical reasons" was not a cover for concerns over security.
"We've reserved the right to host it, but for logistical reasons, for capability reasons, not for security reasons, we wanted to give ourselves more time," he said.
"Maybe 2010 wouldn't ensure the time to prepare the accommodation, the hotels, the facilities and so on.
"We could have hosted the summit, but not in Iraq, but somewhere else, but the feeling was that it doesn't make any sense unless you have the summit in Baghdad."
dbardsley@thenational.ae
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Mina Cup winners
Under 12 – Minerva Academy
Under 14 – Unam Pumas
Under 16 – Fursan Hispania
Under 18 – Madenat
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Four motivational quotes from Alicia's Dubai talk
“The only thing we need is to know that we have faith. Faith and hope in our own dreams. The belief that, when we keep going we’re going to find our way. That’s all we got.”
“Sometimes we try so hard to keep things inside. We try so hard to pretend it’s not really bothering us. In some ways, that hurts us more. You don’t realise how dishonest you are with yourself sometimes, but I realised that if I spoke it, I could let it go.”
“One good thing is to know you’re not the only one going through it. You’re not the only one trying to find your way, trying to find yourself, trying to find amazing energy, trying to find a light. Show all of yourself. Show every nuance. All of your magic. All of your colours. Be true to that. You can be unafraid.”
“It’s time to stop holding back. It’s time to do it on your terms. It’s time to shine in the most unbelievable way. It’s time to let go of negativity and find your tribe, find those people that lift you up, because everybody else is just in your way.”
Company%20Profile
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UAE WARRIORS RESULTS
Featherweight
Azouz Anwar (EGY) beat Marcelo Pontes (BRA)
TKO round 2
Catchweight 90kg
Moustafa Rashid Nada (KSA) beat Imad Al Howayeck (LEB)
Split points decision
Welterweight
Gimbat Ismailov (RUS) beat Mohammed Al Khatib (JOR)
TKO round 1
Flyweight (women)
Lucie Bertaud (FRA) beat Kelig Pinson (BEL)
Unanimous points decision
Lightweight
Alexandru Chitoran (ROU) beat Regelo Enumerables Jr (PHI)
TKO round 1
Catchweight 100kg
Marc Vleiger (NED) beat Mohamed Ali (EGY)
Rear neck choke round 1
Featherweight
James Bishop (NZ) beat Mark Valerio (PHI)
TKO round 2
Welterweight
Abdelghani Saber (EGY) beat Gerson Carvalho (BRA)
TKO round 1
Middleweight
Bakhtiyar Abbasov (AZE) beat Igor Litoshik (BLR)
Unanimous points decision
Bantamweight
Fabio Mello (BRA) beat Mark Alcoba (PHI)
Unanimous points decision
Welterweight
Ahmed Labban (LEB) v Magomedsultan Magomedsultanov (RUS)
TKO round 1
Bantamweight
Trent Girdham (AUS) beat Jayson Margallo (PHI)
TKO round 3
Lightweight
Usman Nurmagomedov (RUS) beat Roman Golovinov (UKR)
TKO round 1
Middleweight
Tarek Suleiman (SYR) beat Steve Kennedy (AUS)
Submission round 2
Lightweight
Dan Moret (USA) v Anton Kuivanen (FIN)
TKO round 2
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
About Takalam
Date started: early 2020
Founders: Khawla Hammad and Inas Abu Shashieh
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech and wellness
Number of staff: 4
Funding to date: Bootstrapped
HAJJAN
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APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
THE%20SPECS
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Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
The specs
Engine: 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 540hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 600Nm at 2,500rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Kerb weight: 1580kg
Price: From Dh750k
On sale: via special order
