Saudi- Foreign ministers set ASPA agenda

(MENAFN- Arab News) RIYADH: Foreign ministers and heads of delegations from Arab and South American countries discussed wide-ranging issues here on Monday a day ahead of the 4th conclave of Arab and South American states popularly known as ASPA Summit.
Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir and his counterparts from the Arab League also held a preparatory meeting.
The outcome of the preparatory ministerial meeting of the ASPA summit will be drafted as the Riyadh Declaration and submitted to the heads of governments for approval during the summit said Carlos Zapata ambassador of Peru who accompanied his country's vice minister for the meeting.
Peru had hosted the ASPA Summit last time in Lima in October 2012 while the first and second summits were hosted by Brazil in Brasilia in 2005 and Qatar in Doha in 2009.
Speaking to Arab News on the sidelines of the meeting of foreign ministers Zapata said that South American countries Brazil Venezuela and Suriname are being headed by their foreign ministers while Peru Argentina Ecuador Uruguay and Paraguay are being led by their vice ministers. Other South American countries are being represented by their ambassadors.
Asked about the issues topping the agenda for the meeting he said besides Syria Yemen and Iran trade and investment between the two regional blocs are major issues dominating the summit which will be attended by most heads of states of both regions interested in promoting a closer approach.
Earlier Arab League foreign ministers held a preparatory meeting in order to chalk out the agenda for the foreign minister meeting and consider issues to put on the agenda for the ASPA Summit.
They discussed the latest developments in the region including Palestince Syria Yemen and Iran.
Nasser Judeh deputy prime minister and minister of foreign and expatriate affairs is leading the Jordanian delegation and raised the concern to review the continued Israeli aggression against the Palestinians in their occupied lands.
Mauro Luiz Iecker Vieira Brazilian minister of external relations; Juan Carlos deputy foreign minister of Bolivia; and Niermala Badrising foreign minister of Suriname are leading their countries' delegation.
Earlier Monday Amado Boudou vice president of Argentina and Raul Sendic vice president of Uruguay reached Riyadh to head their delegations at the ASPA Summit which aims to ensure better coordination between political leaders and civil society organizations in North Africa and the Middle East with their South American counterparts by the actions of five bi-regional committees.
These committees focus their activities on issues regarding economy science and technology environment social and cultural rights and will be in continuity of the agenda that was enriched by summits in Brasilia Doha and Lima.