League of Arab States

Why in news?

• Speaking at a UNSC meeting on cooperation between the United Nations and the League of Arab States (LAS), Foreign Secretary of India welcomed the normalisation of relations between countries in the region and reiterated India’s support for a two–state (i.e., Palestine and Israel) solution

About League of Arab States:

• Arab League, also called League of Arab States (LAS) is regional organization of Arab states in the Middle East and North Africa, formed in Cairo in 1945, following adoption of the Alexandria Protocol in 1944.
• It aims to develop the economy, resolving disputes and coordinating political aims.

Members:

• The founding member states were Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Transjordan (now Jordan), Saudi Arabia, and Yemen.
• Currently, the League has 22 members
• Other members are Libya (1953); Sudan (1956); Tunisia and Morocco (1958); Kuwait (1961); Algeria (1962); Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (1971); Mauritania (1973); Somalia (1974); the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; 1976); Djibouti (1977); and Comoros (1993). (When Yemen was a divided country, from 1967 to 1990, the two regimes were separately represented.)
• Each member has one vote on the League Council, decisions being binding only on those states that have voted for them.

India and the Arab League:

• Being conferred observer status in 2007, India was the first member to enter the League although it does not have an Arab community, neither does it have an indigenous Arabic speaking population.
• The observer states do not hold voting privileges.

PRACTICE QUESTION

Which of the following countries are members of Arab League?

1. Algeria

2. Armenia

3. Georgia

4. Iran

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 1 only

(b) 1,3 and 4 only

(c) 2 and 4 only

(d) 1 and 4 only

Answer