Qatar will host next Arab summit, Arab League (AL) Secretary General Amr Moussa announced Sunday when reading out the Damascus Declaration at the closing session of the 20th Arab summit in Damascus.

Qatar Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani subsequently gave a brief speech, saying that after consultation with the AL and the Somali side, his country would host the next summit instead of Somalia in view of the situation in the eastern African country.

According to the Arabic alphabetic sequence of the names of the AL members, the 21st Arab summit should be hosted by Somalia.

During his speech, the Qatar Emir appreciated the efforts Syria has exerted to host this summit and also thanked Saudi Arabia for hosting the 19th summit in Riyadh.

The two-day Damascus summit, starting from midday Saturday at the Ummayad Palace in the southern suburb of Damascus, brought together 11 Arab leaders, including President Bashar al-Assad.

(Xinhua News Agency March 30, 2008)