Preparations underway for 4th Arab-Russian Forum in Abu Dhabi on 1st February

WAM -- Permanent representatives of member states of the Arab League will hold a co-ordination meeting next Thursday at the pan-Arab organisation's headquarters in Cairo to prepare for the fourth Arab -Russian Cooperation Forum, to be held at the level of foreign ministers on 1st February in Abu Dhabi, the League announced today.

The meeting seeks to set the agenda of the forum, including a draft ministerial declaration, a joint work plan covering the period from 2016 to 2018 and a proposal to establish an Arab cultural centre in Moscow, said Deputy Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed bin Helli in a statement.

A meeting of high-level Arab and Russian officials will be held in Abu Dhabi on 30th and 31st January, before the ministerial meeting, to formulate the draft declaration and the executive plan that will be submitted to the ministers for approval, the statement added.

The ministerial meeting in Abu Dhabi will bring together Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the foreign ministers of members of the Arab League Troika (Tunis, Algeria and Bahrain), Mauritania, which holds the rotating presidency of the Arab Summit, the UAE as host of the forum, as well as the Arab League Secretary-General and representatives of any Arab state willing to participate in the forum.

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