A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) dated 23 September 2003,
was signed between the Secretariat General of the League of Arab States and the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. The MOU represented the
first step towards the consolidation and expansion of mutual friendship,
understanding, cooperation and consultation between the League of Arab States and
the Russian Federation in various fields. A Memorandum of Cooperation was also
signed between the League of Arab States and the Russian Federation to
establish an Arab- Russian Cooperation Forum in Cairo on 21 December 2009 at
the headquarters of the General Secretariat. The agreement included the various
forms of political, economic and trade cooperation and investment, in addition
to scientific and cultural cooperation. Accordingly, the first session of the
Forum for Arab-Russian Cooperation was launched in Moscow on 20 February
2013. It was attended by the Foreign
Affairs ministers of the Forum countries (the Troika of the League Council +
the Presidency of the League of Arab States Summit + the League of Arab States Secretary
General + the Russian Foreign Minister), despite the tension in the region due
to the critical events taking place in Syria,
and Russia's position vis-a-vis the Syrian crisis. During the meeting, a
plan action for the implementation of the principles and objectives of the
Arab- Russian Cooperation Forum was adopted (2013 - 2015).
The General Secretariat is currently coordinating with the
Russian Federation and the Republic of Sudan (the host country of the second
session) in order to prepare for the second session of the Russian-Arab
Cooperation Forum, to be held in Khartoum during 2014.
