Egypt's invitation to an Arab summit at the end of October caused jitters in Beirut Friday because Prime Minister, Salim Hoss, will no longer be in office and his successor will have yet to be appointed, reported the Daily Star newspaper.
The expected compromise will be to dispatch President Emile Lahoud at the head of the Lebanese delegation to attend what will be his first Arab summit, said the paper.
The two-day summit is scheduled to run from October 21 to 22 to discuss the crisis in the Palestinian territories.
Egyptian Ambassador Adel Khodari relayed the invitation to Hoss after Mubarak announced on Friday that leaders from the Arab world would meet in Cairo to discuss the recent Israeli-Palestinian clashes.
Official sources at the foreign ministry said that Lebanese officials were upset at the date of Mubarak's invitation, according to the paper.
The sources said the date coincides with the forming of a new administration and follows the formal resignation of Hoss' government on October 17th.
The dates also coincide with the end of Lahoud's consultations with members of parliament over the choice of next premier, the Daily Star said.
The sources said Hoss discussed the matter with Lahoud after receiving the invitation.
Cairo was informed that Lebanon accepted the invitation, without issuing any comment.
According to the sources, Egypt, which is to chair the summit, did not consult Lebanon over the date of the summit.
Mubarak said holding the summit depended on approval by the Arab states, "of which 99 percent have approved".
So far, Syria, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Kuwait and Jordan have announced their backing for a summit, as have the Palestinians, who have been pushing for one since the Camp David peace summit with Israel broke down in late July - Albawaba.com
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
