The founding Charter of the League of Arab States does not extend observer
status to non-Arab states. Nevertheless, upon the proposal of the AL
Secretariat, and with the common aim to develop relations between Türkiye
and the League of Arab States, a “Memorandum of Understanding between the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye and the General
Secretariat of the AL” was signed on September 22, 2004, in New York.
Following the MoU, on September 6, 2006, the Council of Foreign Ministers
of the AL adopted a resolution for the establishment of the "Turkish-Arab
Cooperation Forum" (TAF). The agreement establishing TAF (The Framework
Agreement for the Turkish-Arab Forum) was signed on November 3, 2007 in
İstanbul.
Areas of cooperation foreseen under the TAF Agreement are as follows: (i)
political and security cooperation, (ii) economic cooperation, (iii)
cultural cooperation; (iv) social development cooperation, (v) cooperation
for the strengthening of the Alliance of Civilizations Initiative. In this
framework, various formats and groups such as the Turkish-Arab Economic
Forum, the TAF Foreign Ministers meetings and others constitute useful
platforms in the development of political, social, economic and cultural
relations between Türkiye and the AL member states.
The "Rabat Initiative for a Comprehensive and Sustainable Turkish-Arab
Cooperation" was adopted during the fourth meeting of the TAF Foreign
Ministers that was held in Rabat in 2011. This document stipulates to hold
various activities in the abovementioned cooperation areas. The first two
meetings of the Economy, Trade and Investment Ministers of the TAF were
respectively held in Mersin (Türkiye) in 2013, and Kuwait in 2015.
Upon the proposal of the AL, the "Agreement on the Establishment of a
Mission in Türkiye between the Government of the Republic of Türkiye and the
League of Arab States” was signed in İstanbul on October 11, 2008. The AL
mission in Ankara was inaugurated in January 2010. The current Head of
Mission is Faleh Majed Almutairi from Kuwait. In return, the Turkish
Embassy in Cairo has been accredited to the AL since April 2010.