The Latest: Egyptian, Bahraini leaders meet ahead of summit
By Associated Press
Mar 27, 2017 11:23 AM CDT
FILE -- In this March 7, 2016 file photo, Sudan's President Omar al Bashir walks to the stage at the extraordinary Organization of Islamic Cooperation summit, in Jakarta, Indonesia. Sudan's official news agency said Monday, March 27, 2017, that al-Bashir will attend the Arab Summit in Jordan this week,...   (Associated Press)

DEAD SEA, Jordan (AP) — The Latest on the Arab Summit held in Jordan (all times local):

6:15 p.m.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has received Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa in Cairo, meeting him at the airport before holding "extensive" talks alongside aides in the presidential palace.

Egypt later expressed its solidarity with Bahrain in confronting terrorism, condemning "in the strongest terms" all attempts to destabilize the security and stability of the kingdom and supporting all its efforts to fight them. In a Foreign Ministry statement Monday, Egypt said it was stating its position in light of the arrest a day earlier of what Bahraini authorities claimed was a "terrorist cell" that had been planning assassinations and attacks on several vital targets in the kingdom.

Arab leaders are scheduled to meet Wednesday at a regional summit in Jordan.

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2:40 p.m.

Saudi Arabia's King Salman has received a royal welcome in Jordan, in a lavish ceremony complete with cannon salutes, guards on camel back and a cream-colored vintage Mercedes.

Salman is in Jordan to attend the annual Arab Summit, to be held on Wednesday. Issues on the summit agenda include conflicts in Syria, Libya and Yemen.

Saudi Arabia is an important financial backer of Jordan. Jordan's King Abdullah II greeted the Saudi monarch on the tarmac at a military airport on the outskirts of the capital, Amman.

The two monarchs are expected to sign several economic and political agreements on the sidelines of the summit. Jordan faces an increasingly dire economic crisis, in part because of the spillover from conflicts in neighboring Syria and Iraq.

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1:50 p.m.

Jordan's foreign minister has told Arab counterparts that the region must come together and urgently confront crises that have been allowed to fester, including violent conflicts and millions of children deprived of the right to an education.

Ayman Safadi spoke Monday, as foreign ministers prepared resolutions for Arab heads of state meeting Wednesday for their annual summit, this year hosted by Jordan.

Safadi painted a grim picture, saying the "Arab political system has failed to solve the crises and halt the collapse as the trust of Arab citizens in the joint Arab institutions has eroded." He says more than 12 million Arab children are being denied access to an education, presumably in part because of conflicts in Syria, Yemen and Libya.

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10:30 a.m.

Sudan's official news agency says President Omar al-Bashir will attend Wednesday's Arab Summit in Jordan, despite a long-standing warrant for his arrest by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes and genocide.

The international group Human Rights Watch urged Jordan to deny entry to al-Bashir or arrest him, citing its obligations as an ICC member. Jordan says that as an Arab League member, Sudan has the right to attend the annual meeting of Arab leaders.

Al-Bashir was charged in connection with alleged atrocities in the country's Darfur region. The U.N. estimates 300,000 people have died there and 2.7 million have fled their homes.

Sudan's news agency SUNA reported Sunday that he would attend the summit. He has traveled frequently since his indictment but is careful where he goes.