RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - The Saudi city of Jeddah will host the Arab League's 32nd regular leaders summit Friday, with the head of the Syrian regime, Bashar al-Assad to attend for the first time in 12 years.
The Syrian president’s participation in the regular summit comes after Syria was reinstated as a member of the Arab League earlier this month, in time for its 50th summit in the past 77 years, reported Anadolu Agency. Meanwhile, the Saudi Press Agency reported that leaders from Oman, Mauritania, Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Lebanon, Palestine and Yemen also arrived in Jeddah to participate in the summit.
The 22-member Arab League suspended Syria in November 2011 over al-Assad’s deadly crackdown on protests which spiraled into a conflict that has killed more than 500,000 people and displaced millions.
Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries either severed or downgraded ties with al-Assad at the time.
But earlier this month, the pan-Arab body welcomed Damascus back, with host Saudi Arabia inviting al-Assad to Friday’s summit.
Syrian pro-government newspaper al-Watan said al-Assad will likely meet "a number of leaders in bilateral meetings” Thursday evening and Friday morning.
The last Arab League summit al-Assad attended was in 2010 in Libya. - BERNAMA-ANADOLU