Arab League
No Date Host Country Host City
1 21-27 September 1970 Egypt Cairo
2 17-28 October 1976 Saudi Arabia Riyadh
3 7-9 September 1985 Morocco Casablanca
4 8-12 November 1987 Jordan Amman
5 7-9 June 1988 Algeria Algiers
6 23-26 June 1989 Morocco Casablanca
7 28-30 March 1990 Iraq Baghdad
8 9-10 August 1990 Egypt Cairo
9 22-23 June 1996 Egypt Cairo
10 21-22 October 2000 Egypt Cairo
11 7 January 2016 Saudi Arabia Riyadh
Military -- Emergency summits
The Arab League (Arabic: الجامعة العربية al-Jāmiʻah al-ʻArabīyah), formally the League of Arab States (Arabic: جامعة الدول العربية Jāmiʿat ad-Duwal al-ʿArabīyah), is a regional organization in the Arab world, which is located in Africa and Western Asia. The Arab League was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945 initially with six members: Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan (renamed Jordan in 1949), Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. Yemen joined as a member on 5 May 1945. Currently, the League has 22 members, but Syria's participation has been suspended since November 2011. 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. Through institutions, such as the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO) and the Economic and Social Council of the Arab League's Council of Arab Economic Unity (CAEU), the Arab League facilitates political, economic, cultural, scientific, and social programmes designed to promote the interests of the Arab world. It has served as a forum for the member states to coordinate their policy positions, to deliberate on matters of common concern, to settle some Arab disputes and to 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.