Arab-Islamic-American Summit kicks off in Riyadh

The Arab-Islamic-American Summit opened on Sunday at King Abdulaziz International Convention Centre in Riyadh, with the participation of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, US President Donald Trump, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and a number of leaders and representative of Arab and Muslim states.
In his speech, King Salman bin Abdulaziz welcomed the US President and the leaders of the Arab and Muslim countries.
"I welcome you in your second country, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. May the leaders of the Arab and Muslim worlds allow me to welcome President Donald Trump of the United States of America to an unprecedented historic summit that is being held at a very critical time," he said.
Speaking about the meeting with President Trump, he said, "The U.S. enjoy strong bonds of friendship and relationship with many of our countries, and this reflects President Trump's keenness to enhance co-operation and co-ordination with our countries in various fields. The meeting significantly shows that our 55 Arab and Islamic countries attending the summit today, with a population exceeding 1.5 billion, are important partners in fighting the forces of extremism and terrorism to achieve world peace, security and stability."
King Salman noted that President Trump has demonstrated many hopes and aspirations for co-operation with the Arab and Muslim world.
"As we extend our appreciation of His Excellency for his response to attend and participate in this summit, we reaffirm our happiness and gratitude for President Trump's choice of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This summit is his first external participation and trip since assuming office. This does reflect the care given by the US President and his country to this summit.
"At the same time, we reaffirm that we share the same noble feelings, in terms of constructive co-operation, to renounce extremism and work on countering terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, liquidating its sources, ceasing all means of financing, eliminating terrorism, and firmly addressing this serious scourge on humanity as a whole," he added.
Commenting on the goal of the summit, he said, "We are meeting today at this summit to express the seriousness in taking rapid steps to promote a genuine partnership with the friendly United States of America in a way that serves our common interests and contributes to achieving security, peace, and development for all mankind, which is confirmed by our Islamic religion."

Source: WAM