Global InformationArab League information
League of Arab States
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 Flag
 Emblem
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 Member states shown in dark green | |
| Administrative center | Cairo, Egypta |
| Official languages |
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| Demonym(s) | Arab |
| Type | Regional organization |
| Members |
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| Leaders | |
• Secretary-General | Ahmed Aboul Gheit |
• Parliament Speaker | Ali Al-Daqbaashi |
| Legislature | Arab Parliament |
| Establishment | |
• Alexandria Protocol | 22 March 1945 |
• Joint Defence and Economic Co-operation Treaty | 18 June 1950 |
• Casablanca Protocol | 11 September 1965 |
• Agreement for Judicial Cooperation | 6 April 1983 |
• Greater Free Trade Area | 2 January 2005 |
| Area | |
• Total area | 13,132,327 km2 (5,070,420 sq mi) (2nd) |
| Population | |
• 2022 estimate | 462,940,089[1] (3rd) |
• Density | 27.17/km2 (70.4/sq mi) |
| GDP (nominal) | 2022 estimate |
• Total | $3.4 trillion[2] (5th) |
• Per capita | $6,600 |
| Currency |
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| Time zone | UTC+0 to +4 |
Website www | |
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| Part of a series on the |
| Politics of the Arab world |
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The Arab League (Arabic: الجامعة العربية, al-Jāmiʿa al-ʻArabiyya Arabic pronunciation: [al.d͡ʒaː.mi.ʕa al.ʕa.ra.bij.ja] ⓘ), formally the League of Arab States (Arabic: جامعة الدول العربية, Jāmiʿat ad-Duwal al-ʿArabiyya), is a regional organization in the Arab world. The Arab League was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945, initially with six members: Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria.[3] Yemen joined as a member on 5 May 1945. Currently, the League has 22 members.
The League's main goal is to "draw closer the relations between member states and co-ordinate collaboration between them, to safeguard their independence and sovereignty, and to consider in a general way the affairs and interests of the Arab countries".[4] The organization has received a relatively low level of cooperation throughout its history.[5]
Through institutions, notably the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO) and the Economic and Social Council of its Council of Arab Economic Unity (CAEU), the League facilitates political, economic, cultural, scientific, and social programmes designed to promote the interests of the Arab world.[6][7] It has served as a forum for the member states to coordinate policy, arrange studies of and committees as to matters of common concern, settle inter-state disputes and limit conflicts such as the 1958 Lebanon crisis. The League has served as a platform for the drafting and conclusion of many landmark documents promoting economic integration. One example is the Joint Arab Economic Action Charter, which outlines the principles for economic activities in the region.
Each member state has one vote in the Council of the Arab League, and decisions are binding only for those states that have voted for them. The aims of the league in 1945 were to strengthen and coordinate the political, cultural, economic and social programs of its members and to mediate disputes among them or between them and third parties. Furthermore, the signing of an agreement on Joint Defence and Economic Cooperation on 13 April 1950 committed the signatories to coordination of military defence measures. In March 2015, the Arab League General Secretary announced the establishment of a Joint Arab Force with the aim of counteracting extremism and other threats to the Arab States. The decision was reached while Operation Decisive Storm was intensifying in Yemen. Participation in the project is voluntary, and the army intervenes only at the request of one of the member states. Heightened military arsenal in many member states and, in a small minority, civil wars as well as terrorist movements were the impetuses for JAF's establishment.[8]
In the early 1970s, the Economic Council put forward a proposal to create the Joint Arab Chambers of Commerce across international states. That led to the setting up of mandates to promote, encourage and facilitate bilateral trade between the Arab world and significant trading partners.
- ^ "World Population Prospects – Population Division – United Nations". population.un.org. Archived from the original on 20 May 2020. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
- ^ "Report for Selected Countries and Subjects". IMF. Archived from the original on 7 April 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
- ^ "Arab League". The Columbia Encyclopedia. 2013.
- ^ "Pact of the League of Arab States, 22 March 1945". The Avalon Project. Yale Law School. 1998. Archived from the original on 25 July 2008. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
- ^ Barnett, Michael; Solingen, Etel (2007), Johnston, Alastair Iain; Acharya, Amitav (eds.), "Designed to fail or failure of design? The origins and legacy of the Arab League", Crafting Cooperation: Regional International Institutions in Comparative Perspective, Cambridge University Press, pp. 180–220, doi:10.1017/cbo9780511491436.006, ISBN 978-0-521-69942-6, archived from the original on 11 June 2018, retrieved 22 December 2021
- ^ "The Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALESCO)". Archived from the original on 27 June 2012. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
- ^ Ashish K. Vaidya, Globalization (ABC-CLIO: 2006), p. 525.
- ^ Fanack. "The Joint Arab Force – Will It Ever Work?". Fanack.com. Archived from the original on 13 July 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2015.