The 1964 Arab League summit in Alexandria was held on 11 September 1964 in
Montaza Palace
Montaza Palace ( ar, قصر المنتزه) is a palace, museum and extensive gardens in the Montaza district of Alexandria, Egypt. It was built on a low plateau east of central Alexandria overlooking a beach on the Mediterranean Sea.
History
The ...
,
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...
as the second
Arab League Summit
The Arab League ( ar, الجامعة العربية, ' ), formally the League of Arab States ( ar, جامعة الدول العربية, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world, which is located in Northern Africa, Western Africa, E ...
. The focus of the conference was to implement the plans discussed at the
first Arab League summit held in January of that year. The summit was notable for being a key step in the buildup to the
Six-Day War
The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states (primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, S ...
in 1967 and separately for "approving the establishment of the
Palestine Liberation Organization
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ar, منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية, ') is a Palestinian nationalism, Palestinian nationalist political and militant organization founded in 1964 with the initial purpose of establ ...
."
Background
The
1964 Arab League summit (Cairo) was against the background of the 1961 breakup of the
United Arab Republic
The United Arab Republic (UAR; ar, الجمهورية العربية المتحدة, al-Jumhūrīyah al-'Arabīyah al-Muttaḥidah) was a sovereign state in the Middle East from 1958 until 1971. It was initially a political union between Eg ...
of
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
and
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
, the continued control of the
Gaza Strip
The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...
by
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
and the
West Bank
The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
by
Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
following the
1948 Arab–Israeli War
The 1948 (or First) Arab–Israeli War was the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. It formally began following the end of the British Mandate for Palestine at midnight on 14 May 1948; the Israeli Declaration of Independence had ...
and the recent tensions in the region driven by Israel's proposed
diversion of water from
Lake Tiberias
The Sea of Galilee ( he, יָם כִּנֶּרֶת, Judeo-Aramaic: יַמּא דטבריא, גִּנֵּיסַר, ar, بحيرة طبريا), also called Lake Tiberias, Kinneret or Kinnereth, is a freshwater lake in Israel. It is the lowest ...
.
[Hof 2000: 156] The January 1964 summit in Cairo was convened following a statement by
Egyptian president
The president of Egypt is the executive head of state of Egypt and the de facto appointer of the official head of government under the Egyptian Constitution of 2014. Under the various iterations of the Constitution of Egypt following the Egyp ...
Gamal Abdel Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein, . (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian politician who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 and introduced far-re ...
on 23 December 1963: ''"In order to confront Israel, which challenged us last week when
its chief-of-staff stood up and said "we shall divert the water against the will of the Arabs and the Arabs can do what they want", a meeting between Arab
king
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
s and
Heads of State
A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 "he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and le ...
must take place as soon as possible, regardless of the conflicts and differences between them. Those with whom we are in conflict, we are prepared to meet; those with whom we have a quarrel, we are ready, for the sake of Palestine, to sit with."''
Resolutions
The council made a number of resolutions, principally relating to
Palestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
and
Arab unity. These resolutions included statements that the Council:
* Was unanimous in defining national objectives for the liberation of
Palestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
from
Zionist
Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...
colonialism and in committing itself to a plan for joint Arab action both in the present stage for which plans have been made, and in the following stage.
* Stressed the necessity of utilizing all Arab potentialities, and the mobilization of their resources and capabilities, in order to counter the challenge of colonialism and
Zionism
Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a Nationalism, nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is ...
as well as
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
’s continued aggressive policies and its insistence on denying the rights of the Arabs of Palestine to their homeland.
* Adopted resolutions for the implementation of Arab plans, especially in the technical and military fields, including embarking on immediate work on projects for the exploitation of the waters of the River Jordan and its tributaries.
* Welcomed the establishment of the Palestine Liberation Organization to consolidate the
Palestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
Entity, and as a vanguard for the collective Arab struggle for the liberation of Palestine. It approved the Organization's decision to establish a
Palestinian Liberation Army
The Palestine Liberation Army (PLA, ar, جيش التحرير الفلسطيني, ''Jaysh at-Tahrir al-Filastini'') is ostensibly the military wing of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), set up at the 1964 Arab League summit held in ...
and defined the commitments of the member States to assist it in its work.
* Expressed its appreciation for the support given by foreign countries to Arab causes in general and the Palestine cause in particular.
* Resolved to combat
British imperialism
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
in the
Arab Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate ...
and to provide assistance to the liberation movement in the
Occupied South and
Oman
Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...
.
* Devoted attention to consolidating Arab friendly relations with the emirates of the
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...
area to ensure the indivisible Arab freedom and to realize common interests.
* Discussed means of consolidating unified Arab political, defence, economic and social action within the framework of the Arab League.
* Placed special emphasis on the promotion of Arab economic co-operation and the implementation of all economic agreements since economic unity is the basic foundation on which Arab power and progress rests and the strongest bastion against foreign challenge. This, in addition to the fact that such unity is the primary objective of contemporary international groupings.
* Stressed the necessity of stepping up co-operation and increasing the economic support to the States of the Arab
Maghreb
The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...
.
* Agreed to form a joint Arab Council to undertake nuclear research for peaceful uses and to set up an Arab court of justice.
Participants
The participants in the meeting were recorded in a letter to the United Nations as follows:
[Unispal, DOCUMENT S/6003*, Letter dated 6 October 1964 from the representatives of Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Republic and Yemen, addressed to the President of the Security Council](_blank)
/ref>
* : King Hussein of Jordan
Hussein bin Talal ( ar, الحسين بن طلال, ''Al-Ḥusayn ibn Ṭalāl''; 14 November 1935 – 7 February 1999) was King of Jordan from 11 August 1952 until his death in 1999. As a member of the Hashemite dynasty, the royal family of ...
* : de facto Prime Minister Bahi Ladgham
Bahi Ladgham ( ar, الباهي الأدغم; 10 January 1913 – 13 April 1998) was a Tunisian politician who served as the Secretary of Presidency from 1957 to 1969 (de facto prime minister) and the Prime Minsiter of Tunisia from 7 November 1969 ...
* : President Ahmed Ben Bella
Ahmed Ben Bella ( ar, أحمد بن بلّة '; 25 December 1916 – 11 April 2012) was an Algerian politician, soldier and socialist revolutionary who served as the head of government of Algeria from 27 September 1962 to 15 September 1963 an ...
* : President Ibrahim Abboud
General Ibrahim Abboud ( ar, إبراهيم عبود; 26 October 1900, in Suakin – 8 September 1983, in Khartoum) was a Sudanese political figure who served as the head of state of Sudan between 1958 and 1964 and as president of Sudan in 1964 ...
* : President Abdul Salam Arif
ʿAbd al-Salam Mohammed ʿArif al-Jumayli ( ar, عبد السلام محمد عارف الجميلي'; 21 March 1921 – 13 April 1966) was the second president of Iraq from 1963 until his death in a plane crash in 1966. He played a leading role ...
* : Prince Faisal of Saudi Arabia
Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud ( ar, فيصل بن عبدالعزيز آل سعود ''Fayṣal ibn ʿAbd al ʿAzīz Āl Suʿūd'', Najdi Arabic pronunciation: ; 14 April 1906 – 25 March 1975) was a Saudi Arabian statesman and diplomat who was ...
(later King)
* : President Amin al-Hafiz
Amin al-Hafiz ( ar, أمين الحافظ, Amīn al-Ḥāfiẓ12 November 1921 – 17 December 2009), also known as Amin Hafez was a Syrian politician, general, and member of the Ba'ath Party who served as the President of Syria from 27 Jul ...
* : President Gamal Abdel Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein, . (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian politician who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 and introduced far-re ...
(technically President of the United Arab Republic
The United Arab Republic (UAR; ar, الجمهورية العربية المتحدة, al-Jumhūrīyah al-'Arabīyah al-Muttaḥidah) was a sovereign state in the Middle East from 1958 until 1971. It was initially a political union between Eg ...
)
* : President Abdullah as-Sallal
Abdullah Yahya al-Sallal ( ar, عبد الله يحيى السلال, ʿAbd Allāh Yaḥyā al-Sallāl; January 9, 1917 – March 5, 1994) was the leader of the North Yemeni Revolution of 1962. He served as the first President of the Yemen Arab ...
(Yemen Arab Republic
The Yemen Arab Republic (YAR; ar, الجمهورية العربية اليمنية '), also known simply as North Yemen or Yemen (Sanaʽa), was a country from 1962 to 1990 in the northwestern part of what is now Yemen.The United States extend ...
)
* : Prince Abdullah III Al-Salim Al-Sabah
* : President Charles Helou
Charles Helou ( ar, شارل الحلو; 25 September 1913 – 7 January 2001) was a Lebanese politician and President of Lebanon from 1964 to 1970.
Early life and education
Born in Beirut on 25 September 1913, Helou was the scion of a powerf ...
* : King Idris of Libya
Muhammad Idris bin Muhammad al-Mahdi as-Senussi ( ar, إدريس, Idrīs; 13 March 1890 – 25 May 1983) was a Libyan political and religious leader who was Kingdom of Libya, King of Libya from 24 December 1951 until his overthrow on 1 September ...
* : Prince Moulay Abdallah of Morocco
Prince Moulay Abdallah of Morocco, KCVO, (30 July 1935 – 20 December 1983) was the brother of Moulay Hassan, later King Hassan II of Morocco and the son of King Mohammed V of Morocco (1909–1961) and his second wife, Lalla Abla bint Tahar (19 ...
* : Ahmad Shukeiri
Ahmad al-Shukeiri ( ar, أحمد الشقيري, also transliterated al-Shuqayri, Shuqairi, Shuqeiri, Shukeiry; 1 January 1908 – 26 February 1980) was the first Chairman of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, serving from 1964–1967.
...
A number of key Arab states had not yet achieved independence from Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
in 1964, and therefore their leaders did not participate in the conference:
* : Emir Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa
Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa (; 3 June 1931 – 6 March 1999) was the first emir of Bahrain from 1961 until his death in 1999.
Born in Jasra, Bahrain, he became emir upon the death of his father, Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa.
Early life and reign
...
* : Sultan Said bin Taimur
Said bin Taimur ( ar, سعيد بن تيمور; 13 August 1910 – 19 October 1972) was the 13th Sultan of Muscat and Oman from 10 February 1932 until he was deposed on 23 July 1970 by his son Qaboos bin Said.
He was a member of the House of ...
of Muscat and Oman
The Sultanate of Muscat and Oman ( ar, سلطنة مسقط وعمان, Salṭanat Masqaṭ wa-‘Umān), also known briefly as the State of Muscat and Oman () during the rule of Taimur bin Feisal, was a sovereign state that encompassed the prese ...
* : Emir Ahmad bin Ali Al Thani
Sheikh Ahmad bin Ali bin Abdullah bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani ( ar, أحمد بن علي بن عبد الله بن جاسم بن محمد آل ثاني; 1922 – 25 November 1977) was the Emir of Qatar who ruled from 1960 to 1972. Qatar's f ...
* : Emirs of the Trucial States
The Trucial States ( '), also known as the Trucial Coast ( '), the Trucial Sheikhdoms ( '), Trucial Arabia or Trucial Oman, was the name the British government gave to a group of tribal confederations in southeastern Arabia whose leaders had s ...
* : Sultans of the Federation of South Arabia
The Federation of South Arabia ( ar, اتحاد الجنوب العربي ') was a federal state under British protection in what would become South Yemen. Its capital was Aden.
It was formed on 4 April 1962 from the 15 protected states of ...
and the Protectorate of South Arabia
The Protectorate of South Arabia consisted of various states located at the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula under treaties of protection with Britain. The area of the former protectorate became part of South Yemen after the Radfan uprisi ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arab League summit 1964 (Alexandria)
1964 Arab League summit (Alexandria)
History of Alexandria
1964 in Egypt
Diplomatic conferences in Egypt
20th-century diplomatic conferences
1964 in international relations
September 1964 events in Africa
1964 conferences
20th century in Alexandria