Arabs Struggle to Reschedule Summit

OSAC ^ | March 31, 2004 | SUSAN SEVAREID, AP Writer

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SHARM EL-SHEIK, Egypt - President Hosni Mubarak and Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah met in an Egyptian seaside resort Wednesday as Arab leaders struggled to resolve differences and reschedule the Arab summit that collapsed in Tunisia.

On Monday, President Hosni Mubarak, who often works out of Sharm el-Sheik during the winter and spring, met here with Bahrain's King Hamad. Tuesday, his guest was Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa. A visit by King Abdullah II of Jordan also was expected and one by Syrian President Bashar Assad hasn't been ruled out.

Other Arab leaders were reportedly consulting by telephone. A high-level American delegation expected in Sharm el-Sheik Wednesday also was expected to discuss prospects for a summit at which U.S. calls for more democracy in the Arab world were likely to be discussed.

Host Tunisia canceled a planned Arab League annual summit Saturday, less than 48 hours before it was to begin, saying divisions on the major issues could not be resolved. The summit was to address political reform in Arab states, reforming the Arab League and how to proceed toward Israeli-Palestinian peace.

Al-Sharaa, the Syrian foreign minister, briefly addressing reporters Tuesday after meeting with Mubarak, said Egypt and Syria are "very close in our viewpoints."

Both countries have urged a quick reconvening of the summit  April 16 has been floated as a possible date, as well as early May  and believe that differences among the 22 Arab League members can be bridged soon. But neither al-Sharaa nor Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher said how that was being done.

Political reform is a sensitive subject in a region where heads of state often are leaders for life and where the U.S. push for democracy is resented as foreign interference.

Washington has put forward its Greater Middle East Initiative, which urges Arab states to promote democracy, human rights and the status of women. Its proposals, which have not yet been officially released, also encourage the upgrading of educational systems and economic liberalization.

Jordan, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen have welcomed Mubarak's offer to hold the summit in Egypt. But Tunisian Foreign Minister Habib Ben Yahya says President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali still wants to hold the summit, and Moussa, the Arab League secretary-general, said he would visit Tunisia on Friday to discuss "the time, place and substance" of any upcoming summit.