RIYADH — Saudi Arabia has announced the postponement of the Arab-African Summit amidst the current developments in Gaza. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the postponement of the Arab-African Summit in coordination with the Secretariat of the Arab League and the African Union Commission. The decision, driven by the commitment to prevent regional political events from impacting the Arab-African partnership focused on developmental and economic dimensions, reschedules the fifth Arab-African Summit to a later date. This move comes in response to the current developments in Gaza, prompting the convening of an extraordinary Arab summit and an Islamic summit dedicated to addressing the current crisis and its severe humanitarian consequences, the statement read. The Arab-African summit were scheduled to hold on Nov. 11, 2023. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) announced that an extraordinary summit will be held on Sunday in Riyadh to discuss Israel's attacks on the Palestinian people. The summit will be held at the request of the current chairman, Saudi Arabia, in Riyadh on Nov. 12, said a statement issued by the OIC. The Israeli army has launched air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7. Also, an emergency session of the Summit of Arab heads of state and leaders will be held under the presidency of Saudi Arabia in Riyadh on Saturday, Nov. 11.
