30/03/2008
The 20th Arab League summit opened in Damascus on Saturday (March 29th) with the attendance of 11 heads of state, including Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Mauritanian President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdellahi, and Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi. Morocco is being represented by Prince Moulay Rachid. The Arab-Israeli conflict is expected to top the agenda, although disagreements over Lebanon are the main reason several key Arab leaders choose to skip the event. Lebanon boycotted the annual gathering. To protest Syria's Lebanon policies, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Saudi King Abdullah and Jordanian King Abdullah II did not attend but instead sent low-level delegations.