Here follows the full text of the speech, read out by Moroccan foreign minister Saâd Dine El Otmani:
 

Praise be to God     May Peace and blessings be upon the Prophet, His Kith and Kin


Your Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, Chairman of the Twenty-Fourth Summit Conference,
Your Majesties,
Your Excellencies,
Your Highnesses,
Mr. Secretary-General,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I should like, first, to extend my heartfelt congratulations to my brother His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Emir of the sister nation the State of Qatar, as Chairman of the current Summit. I wish him every success in his mission and hope this summit conference will achieve concrete results that bolster Arab joint action and strengthen the development process in our countries. I also want to tell His Highness and the Qatari people how grateful we are to them for hosting the summit and for its good organization.

Your Majesties,
Your Excellencies,
Your Highnesses,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Given the deteriorating situation in the sister nation, Syria, and the increasing, negative repercussions of the crisis on the countries of the entire region, I cannot but condemn the acts of violence and the killings to which our defenseless Syrian brothers are subjected. I wish to make an urgent plea for efforts to be pooled in order to achieve the immediate cessation of these barbaric acts of violence; otherwise, the spiral of violence will continue, its scope will expand and the number of  innocent civilian victims will increase, particularly with the possible and unacceptable use of lethal weapons.

To alleviate the suffering of the proud Syrian people, Morocco has attached paramount importance to the humanitarian aspect. It set up a field hospital in the sister nation Jordan, provided direct humanitarian aid to Syrian refugees in Jordan and Turkey, and contributed $4million to the Donors' Conference hosted by the sister nation the State of Kuwait.

Morocco also hosted a ministerial meeting of the "Group of Friends of the Syrian People", which reinforced the Syrian national coalition’s action and leading role.

Through the coordination of its action and through consultation with other members of the Security Council as well as influential international stakeholders, Morocco will continue to endeavor to rally together the representatives of the full spectrum of Syrian political opinion to make sure that the efforts made are not obliterated and that measures in the field are coordinated. In this way we can address the concerns and needs of the Syrian people in their struggle for freedom. My country is of the view that the combined, responsible supervision of actions inside the Syrian territory is the most effective way to ensure that Syrians’ legitimate rights are respected and their aspirations met so that we can promote the desired political transition process, build a state based on legitimate institutions, preserve stability and safeguard this sister nation’s territorial integrity.

Your Majesties,
Your Excellencies,
Your Highnesses,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In the midst of the complex developments and turmoil gripping the Middle East, the central, critically important issue of the Palestinian people remains deadlocked. Regrettably, there has been no progress in this regard since successive Israeli governments have invariably sought to impose the fait accompli policy, thereby violating international legitimacy, ignoring all their documented obligations and breaching human rights and international humanitarian law, on a large scale, by stubbornly rejecting all peace efforts and overtures.

The best way to deal with Israel’s intransigence is by getting our Palestinian brothers to unite and close ranks through Palestinian reconciliation. In this respect, I welcome the ongoing contacts and back the efforts made to ensure successful, constructive dialogue between the Palestinians. I also support the appeal made by the Palestinian stakeholders to promote Palestinian unity and achieve a successful outcome.

Consistent with my duties as President of the Al-Quds Committee, I shall do everything I can to continue urging influential international actors to compel the Israeli government to stop its policies which are designed to Judaize East Jerusalem and obliterate its identity. In this respect, the tangible projects being implemented by the Bayt Mal Al-Quds Agency for the benefit of the inhabitants of the holy city deserve to be underscored.
Opting for peace is an irreversible choice. Likewise, the Arab Peace Initiative cannot be ignored.  Today, more than ever before, we have to take clear, firm positions as part of an effective, joint strategy to uphold the right of the Palestinian people to an independent state based on the 1967 borders, with Al-Quds al-Sharif as its capital.

Your Majesties,
Your Excellencies,
Your Highnesses,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Considering the political, economic and social challenges confronting the Arab world, we need to step up efforts and promote cooperation and coordination to bolster our joint action and fulfill the aspirations of Arab peoples for development and progress. A comprehensive, participatory approach should be adopted to invigorate Arab joint action and achieve our strategic objectives.

It would be remiss not to mention the initiative taken by my brother the King of Bahrain, His Majesty Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, with a view to setting up an Arab human rights court. This legal mechanism is designed to promote Arab joint action from the human rights perspective, and to keep pace with international efforts in this area by furthering the broad human rights agenda.

I also want to stress the importance of follow up to the implementation of our agreed programs and strategies regarding food and water security. This is a challenge for Arab countries today and in the future. I am referring specifically to the Arab Emergency Program for Food Security and the Arab Water Security Strategy, the latter being fully in line with our national policy in this vital sector.

In 2008, the Kingdom of Morocco launched the Morocco Green Plan, which is based on the implementation of 960 modern farming projects, with investments estimated at $9 billion. My country has also developed the national program for the conservation of irrigation water, which aims to reduce the scarcity of water and improve its usage for agricultural purposes during the 2008-2020 period. Wishing to support national and Arab efforts in this area, I attach special importance to the creation of the Arab center for strategic studies and research on water resources, with its headquarters in the Kingdom of Morocco.

Your Majesties,
Your Excellencies,
Your Highnesses,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The future of the Arab region concerns us all, according to our respective positions and capabilities. Indeed, we all look forward to seeing our countries reap the benefit of creative economic growth, democracy, good governance and social justice. Yet, such a goal cannot be attained unless we join efforts to achieve optimal Arab integration in general, and Maghreb integration in particular.

It is our duty today to strive harder in order to preserve our accomplishments and reinforce them constantly, promote proper management of our natural resources and upgrade the Arab world’s abundant human resources. Thanks to these resources, we can become a key political player in the international arena, and our countries can constitute a successful economic bloc that makes significant contributions to the global economy.

Before concluding, allow me to reiterate my thanks to my brother His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, and to the Government and people of the State of Qatar for all they have done to ensure the success of our Summit. I pray that Almighty God help us ensure the well-being of the glorious Arab Ummah and fulfil the legitimate aspirations of our peoples.

Wassalamu alaikum warahmatullah wabarakatuh.