Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, Feb 25, 2019, SPA -- Leaders of the League of Arab States (LAS) and European Union (EU) member states affirmed that enhancing regional cooperation is key to finding solutions to the current common challenges which both the EU countries and the Arab States are confronted with. This came in "Sharm El Sheikh Summit Declaration" announced at the conclusion of the first LAS-EU Summit under co-chairmanship of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi of the Arab Republic of Egypt and President of European Council Donald Tusk. The following is "Sharm El Sheikh Summit Declaration": 1- We the Leaders of League of Arab States (LAS) and European Union (EU) member states held the first Summit on 24-25 February 2019 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, under the co-chairmanship of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi of the Arab Republic of Egypt and President of European Council Donald Tusk, to discuss and address common and current challenges across the two regions comprising 12% of the world’s population and to embark on a new era of cooperation and coordination; confident that strengthened interaction between the member states of LAS and EU has great potential to enhance the stability, prosperity, and well-being of the two regions and the world at large, working in tandem within the multilateral, rules-based global order. 2- We acknowledged our rich history of cultural exchanges and strong partnership, and reaffirmed that stronger regional cooperation is key to finding solutions to the current common challenges which both the EU countries and the Arab States are confronted with. We expressed our commitment to share experiences and further deepen the Euro-Arab partnership in order to realize our shared aspirations, to promote peace, stability and prosperity, guarantee security, foster economic, social and technological development and to create mutual opportunities through a collaborative and cooperative approach, placing the people of our regions, and in particular women and young people, at the center of our endeavors. We recognize the important role in this regard. 3- We renewed our commitment to effective multilateralism and to an international system based on international law in order to tackle global challenges, including through increased cooperation between the LAS, EU, the United Nations (UN) and the African Union (AU). We reiterated our full commitment to the universal 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This commitment will guide us in our efforts to achieve shared objectives, including in tackling common challenges such as the phenomenon of migration, where we will be inspired by the Valletta principles; the protection of and support to refugees in accordance with the international law; the upholding of all aspects of international human rights law, condemnation of all forms of incitement to hatred, xenophobia and intolerance; the strengthening of the fight against irregular migration and scaling up our joint efforts in preventing and fighting migrants' smuggling, eradicating trafficking in human beings and combating those who exploit vulnerable people; and to global efforts to tackle climate change, notably the Paris Agreement. 4- We agreed to further strengthen our cooperation towards security, conflict resolution and socio-economic development throughout the region. 5- We reaffirmed the importance to strengthen economic cooperation between the two sides, establishing a strong partnership based on investment and sustainable development. We are committed to developing a positive cooperation agenda especially in the fields of trade, energy, including energy security, science, research, technology, tourism, fisheries, agriculture and other mutually beneficial areas; all with the aim to create wealth, increase growth rates and reduce unemployment to better respond to our peoples’ needs. 6- We reiterated that reaching political solutions to the regional crises, in accordance with international law, including international humanitarian law, is key to achieving the peace and prosperity that the peoples of the region need and deserve. --More 18:21 LOCAL TIME 15:21 GMT 0026 www.spa.gov.sa/w843517