King Mohammed VI to Attend Arab League Summit in Riyadh

King Mohammed VI is expected shortly in Riyadh where he is to take part in the Arab League summit to be held mid-April.
An invitation to attend the summit had previously been sent to the sovereign, a diplomatic source told the news portal le360, on condition not to be named.

The 29th Arab League summit was initially scheduled to be held at the end of March, but was postponed because the date coincided with the Egyptian presidential election.

The excellent relations and firm partnership existing between Morocco and Saudi Arabia, the current juncture in the Arab world where Morocco is called to play a key role, the Kingdom’s participation in the Saudi-led Coalition in Yemen, and its leadership in defending the Palestinian cause- the king being the chairman of the Al Quds Committee- all speak in favor of the King’s participation in the Arab summit, comments the news portal.

After the kingdom’s successful comeback in the continental institutions, the African Union in the first place, King Mohammed VI will, by taking part in the Riyadh summit, mark his country’s return to the Arab family and consolidate its leadership in the Arab world.

Actually, the king did not attend the 2017 summit held in Amman, Jordan, and Morocco had declined to host the 2016 summit as initially scheduled. The summit was finally held in Mauritania.

The trip to Riyadh will take place few days after the King discussed in Paris on Tuesday (April 10) with President Emmanuel Macron of France the situation in the Middle East and a set of other regional and international issues.

While in Paris, the King also met Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed Bin Salman and Lebanese Premier Saad Hariri. A picture, posted Monday evening by Saad Hariri on his Twitter account, showed the three men sitting together casually. Some described the picture as “the selfie of the century”.