Date: Jan 18, 2019 Source: The Daily Star Aoun disappointed as heads of state bail on summit Joseph Haboush| The Daily Star BEIRUT: The last-minute withdrawal of most heads of state from the Arab Economic and Social Development Summit has disappointed President Michel Aoun, as the Arab League chief Thursday praised Beirut’s preparations for the weekend’s summit. “Eight heads of state were supposed to come and they started falling off one by one. Of course, we were surprised by these decisions,” a presidential palace source told The Daily Star. Mauritania and Somalia are the only countries sending heads of state to attend. But perhaps the development shouldn’t come as a surprise, as domestic scenes in recent days appeared to push leaders toward refraining from coming to Lebanon. Speaker Nabih Berri’s supporters tore down and burned the Libyan flag last week near the venues where the summit is slated to take place this weekend. Supporters of Berri, the head of the Amal Movement, also threatened to not allow members of the Libyan delegation to leave Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport. This led lawmakers from the Free Patriotic Movement, founded by Aoun, to raise doubts about the independence of General Security. The agency is responsible for passport control at the airport and is headed by Abbas Ibrahim, who has close ties with Berri. After Libya decided to boycott the summit, several other countries responded by indicating they would send lower-level representatives. Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit met with Aoun and thanked Lebanon for organizing the summit, but advised against speculating about who would represent the various nations at the event. “The shape of [who will represent each country] has not been finalized. Let’s wait and see how representation will be, but what is certain is that Lebanon seriously deserves credit because of the efforts it put forth,” Aboul Gheit told reporters after the meeting. Although refusing to comment on the flag incident, a presidential palace source said the antics of Berri’s supporters had disappointed Arab League leaders. The source declined to comment on who shouldered the blame for the lower level of representation. Tunisia, Qatar and Kuwait were among those that had been expected to be represented by their heads of state. However, a Kuwaiti representative cited the recent events as the reason for a lower level of representation from his country. The presidential palace source, however, said Kuwait’s prime minister was expected to head the country’s delegation to the summit Sunday. Kuwait’s Finance Minister Nayef al-Hajraf arrived Thursday, among a host of summit attendees. Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, who had confirmed last November in writing that he would attend, also changed his mind. Instead, Doha’s Finance Minister Mohammad al-Sharif and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sultan bin Saad al-Muraikhi will attend. The UAE Economy Minister Sultan bin Said al-Mansouri arrived in Beirut to head his country’s delegation, while the Tunisian economy minister confirmed that the president would not attend and the foreign minister would represent his country instead. A statement from the Lebanese presidency said Mansouri praised the importance of holding the summit in Lebanon, saying it would strengthen the country’s economic role. Mansouri also spoke of the importance of e-commerce and inter-Arab relations, which will be discussed during the summit. On a more positive note for Lebanon, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Lebanon said the kingdom’s Finance Minister Ibrahim al-Assaf would head its delegation. His deputy, Hamad bin Sleiman al-Bazai, is already in Beirut. Also arriving in Beirut were Yemeni Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammad al-Hadrami and Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohammad Ali al-Hakim. The final preparatory measures for the summit kicked off in the morning with a meeting to discuss and pass the agenda. Attending the morning meeting were representatives from Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Tunisia, as well as from the Arab League’s secretariat-general. The Lebanese Economy Ministry’s Director-General Alia Abbas told reporters that the recommendations set to come out of the AESD would hopefully have a positive impact on the Lebanese and Arab states’ economies. She noted specifically an initiative the Lebanese president is expected to present, the details of which were not described.