![Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs and upcoming chairman of COP27 Sameh Shoukry is seen at a press conference after the May Ministerial - World Climate Leaders Meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark, on May 13, 2022 [PHILIP DAVALI/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/GettyImages-1240643065-e1653480769943.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and his delegation withdrew from the opening meeting of the 158th session of the Arab League’s Council of Arab Foreign Ministers this week when his Libyan counterpart, Najla Al-Mangoush, assumed the presidency of the session.
The withdrawal was an expression of Egypt’s reservations about the assumption of the presidency by a representative of the outgoing Libyan government headed by Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh.
The agenda for the meeting included the Palestinian cause and the Arab-Israeli conflict, support for the budget of the State of Palestine, and a report on Arab water security. The latter covered details of Israel’s theft of water in the occupied Palestinian territories and the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.
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