1st EU-Arab summit sees low-level Arab representation

CAIRO

The first EU-Arab summit is set to open in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Sunday amid a high turnout from European officials.

The two-day summit, however, will see a low-level representation from half of Arab countries, according to official statements and Arab media outlets.

Leaders of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, Palestine, Tunisia, Yemen, Libya, Somalia and Djibouti are expected to participate in the meeting.

Delegations of Lebanon and Morocco will be led by the prime ministers, while Jordan, Sudan, Mauritania and Comoros will be represented by the foreign ministers.

Qatar's delegate to the Cairo-based Arab League Ibrahim al-Sahlawi will lead the Gulf state’s delegation to the summit.

Syria has been excluded from the summit after its membership was frozen by the Arab League due to the regime's harsh crackdown on pro-democracy protests that erupted in 2011.

The summit, however, will see a high turnout from European officials.

According to official statements by the Egyptian authorities, the European representation in the summit will vary between the posts of president and a prime minister, a foreign minister.

Prominent among participants are Donald Tusk, President of the European Council and Federica Mogherini, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

Notably, French President Emmanuel Macron will not be among the EU leaders participating in the summit.

Among the most prominent participants from the European leaders are German Chancellor Angela Merkel and U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May.

The opening session of the summit will kick off at 5:30 p.m. local time and will be followed by an open session among the participating leaders to discuss means of bolstering Arab-European partnership and ways of dealing with global challenges, according to an Egyptian media.

Held under the theme "Investing in Stability", the summit will tackle several topics, including the region's stability and the fight against terrorism as well as peace and illegal immigration.