Algeria - League of Arab States

The League of Arab States is a regional organization founded on 22 March 1945. It comprises 22 Arab countries and its headquarters is based in Cairo.

Algeria joined the League of Arab States on 16 August 1962, forty (40) days after its independence on 5 July 1962.

Since its accession to the League of Arab States, Algeria has hosted three (03) Arab summits:

• The Algiers Ordinary Summit, November 1973, held after the October 1973 War in the presence of 16 countries. The accession of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania to the Arab League is one of the most important outcomes of this summit, given the prominent role played by Algeria in this regard.
• The Algiers Emergency Summit (Intifada Summit), June 1988, was held at the initiative of President Chadli Bendjedid to provide political and financial support to the Palestinian intifada. On the sidelines of this summit, the leaders of the Maghreb countries held a meeting on June 10, 1988 in the city of Zeralda and issued a statement by which they decided to establish the Arab Maghreb Union.

• The Algiers Ordinary Summit was held in March 2005, and was the first ordinary summit to be organized after the adoption of the annual periodicity in Arab capitals, in alphabetical order of the Arab member states.

The 2005 Algiers Summit, held under the theme of “"Political, structural and organizational dimensions of reform", was a precedent in terms of the importance of the international and regional presence that accompanied its actions and the number of speeches delivered by representatives of international and regional organizations and countries, such as the African Union, the United Nations, the European Union, Turkey and Spain, which has aroused the interest of other countries, including Arab countries, about the diplomatic potential that Algeria has  in leading joint Arab action and integrating it into the international sphere.

All the summits hosted by Algeria, have been linked to important issues and vital files that have made them essential milestones in the course of the League of Arab States.

Algeria is an active member of the Arab League and has always worked to strengthen collective Arab action, overcome differences among member states, and put forward constructive proposals for reform of the League of Arab States, with a view to giving impetus to joint Arab action, in order to achieve the aspirations and interests of the Arab peoples, while adhering to the immutable principles and inalienable rights that do not change with circumstances, especially the Palestinian issue.

With regard to the reform and development of the League and the enrichment of the reform file, it was noted that the paper presented by Algeria at the 2005 Summit was the only comprehensive and objective document, prepared by professors and experts and presented in the form of a new draft of the Charter of the League of Arab States from an Algerian perspective that reflects the experience and political achievements of our country.

Within the framework of the reform and development of the League of Arab States, Algeria chairs Working Group IV on the development of the popular dimension of the League. Saudi Arabia chairs the first working group on the revision of the charter and the development of the intellectual framework of the Joint Arab Action Organization. Tunisia chairs the second working group on the development of the organs and functions of the league. Iraq chairs Working Group III on the development of economic and social action.

In the same context, it should be recalled that the former Secretary General of the League, had formed a committee to develop the joint Arab action system, headed by the Algerian diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi, who submitted a report in 2013.

When speaking about Algeria in the Arab League, we must emphasize the efforts made by Algeria since joining the League to support the Palestinian cause, whether through its principled and unwavering commitment to provide political, material and financial support to the budget of the State of Palestine, or through its contribution to supporting the member states, such as the exemption of Somalia from paying its debts or the assistance provided to Yemen, Syria and other Arab countries in crises.

On the other hand, we note that Algeria has committed to pay its annual shares to the secretariat of the League as well as its specialized institutions, for a total value of US $9 million.

Algeria is already hosting the following institutions of the League of Arab States:

• The Higher Arab Institute of Translation;
• The Arab Center for Earthquake and Natural Disaster Prevention,
• The Arab Ammunition Project,
• The Arab Iron and Steel Union.