Outgoing Lebanese Prime Minister Nagib Mikati (r) is presented with an invitation to the 33rd Arab League Summit by Bahrain's ambassador to Syria, Wahid Moubarak Sayar, at the Grand Serail in Beirut on March 27, 2024. (Photo X/@grandserail)
Caretaker Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati was presented on Wednesday with an official invitation to the 33rd Arab League Summit, to be held on Thursday, May 16 in Bahrain, according to the prime minister's office in a post on X.
The invitation was addressed to him by Bahrain's King Hamad Ben Issa al-Khalifa and was hand-delivered to Mikati by Wahid Moubarak Sayar, Bahrain's ambassador to Syria, who came with a delegation representing the Gulf monarchy to Beirut's Grand Serail.
The Bahraini diplomat said he wished "every progress and prosperity to the Republic of Lebanon and its brotherly people," according to a Serail statement. "We are pleased to invite you to the 33rd session of the Council of Arab League Countries" scheduled for May 16 in Bahrain, the text continued. "Your participation in this summit is important, as it will have major consequences in the difficult circumstances and crucial challenges facing our Arab nation," it concludes.
Almost a year ago, the foreign ministers of the Arab League decided to reinstate Syria, after more than a decade of suspension. The decision was taken at a closed-door meeting of the ministers at the League's headquarters in Cairo, consolidating the regional resolve to normalize relations with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
This article originally appeared in French in L'Orient-Le Jour.