Follow-up task force to be set up

The historic first meeting between EU and Arab League ministers ended yesterday with a commitment to set up a joint task force to pursue key areas of cooperation identified over the past two days, which include the Middle-East conflict, cultural dialogue and climate change.

Comments on the meeting - which took place on Malta's insistence - were very positive.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal said at the concluding press conference yesterday afternoon that few such meetings had managed to provide such a frank platform of exchange.

The proposal to have a follow-up mechanism was in fact made by Prince Al Faisal, whose country holds the presidency of the Arab League. It was taken up by the European Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner, who said she would commit a dedicated team. Together with counterparts from the Arab League's secretariat, they would hammer out more detailed cooperation measures to be taken between the two blocs.

The meeting brought together 49 states, namely all 27 of the EU members and 22 Arab League states, which together make up about a quarter of the countries represented in the United Nations. Ministers from different countries sang the praises of Malta's Foreign Minister Michael Frendo for his initiative to hold the meeting, with Prince Al Faisal jokingly thanking him for his "stubbornness".

Climate change took centre stage in the discussions. Talks in this area, Dr Frendo insisted, proved the value of such meetings, which brought major producers and major consumers around the same table.

On the instability in the Middle-East, which, as expected, also attracted its share of attention, Dr Frendo said there was a shared concern about the fact that the so-called Annapolis process, which began in November 2007, was not delivering.

"Ours is a positive message calling for renewed commitment to the spirit of Annapolis," he said. The issue is now likely to rank high on the priority list of the new task force.

The communiqué issued at the end of the meeting also speaks about the situation in Lebanon and denounces attempts to undermine stability in the area.

The document endorses the plan approved by the Arab League early in January, which called for the election of a President and the formation of a new national unity government as soon as possible.

As is often the case at such high-level meetings where diplomacy is paramount, nothing concrete really emerged from the communiqué. However, the meeting proved to be a very valid platform to improve cooperation between Europe and the Arab world, Prince Al Faisal said.

"We came here with very low expectations but are leaving with a very optimistic outlook about future cooperation," he said.

On the fringes of yesterday's meeting Dr Frendo and Cypriot Foreign Minister Arato Kazakou-Marcouillis signed an agreement aimed at deepening and widening cooperation and dialogue between the two countries.

Another agreement signed was a memorandum of understanding on consultations between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Malta and that of Palestine.