The 18th Arab summit has ended with the usual pledges of solidarity with Palestinians and Iraqis and a surprise announcement from Saudi Arabia that it will not host the 2007 gathering. Addressing the final session of the two-day Arab League summit in Khartoum on Wednesday, Ghazi al-Gusaibi, the Saudi labour minister, said the next meeting should instead be held in Egypt although he gave no reason for his country's refusal to act as host. The Saudi move is being seen by some as indicative of a growing impatience with the Arab League's lack of executive power. The annual meetings of the 22-member league regularly focus on challenging regional issues, but are often criticised for concluding with resolutions that are long on rhetoric and short on concrete action. This year key states Saudi Arabia and Egypt were among 10 countries not to send heads of state to the meeting. Announcing the Saudi decision, al-Gusaibi cited an Arab League resolution stipulating that Egypt, home to the league's headquarters, should host the 2007 summit if the chair country did not want to.
Amr Moussa, the Arab League secretary-general whose term was extended for five years at the summit, sought to play down the Saudi decision, saying Saudi Arabia and Egypt had jointly agreed to have the next summit in Cairo. He said he saw no problem "as long as everyone was satisfied" with the decision.