The European Union and the League of Arab States (LAS) have agreed to strengthen cooperation over security, conflict resolution and socio-economic development, Asharq Al-Awsat reported.

The sides pledged to discuss and address common and current challenges across the two regions comprising 12 percent of the world’s population and to embark on a new era of cooperation and coordination, said the concluding statement.

“We are confident that strengthened interaction between the member states of LAS and EU has great potential to enhance the stability, prosperity, and well-being of the two regions and the world at large, working in tandem within the multilateral, rules-based global order,” the statement said.

The forum, chaired by the head of the European Council, Donald Tusk, and the president of Egypt, Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, also discussed conflicts in Syria, Libya and Yemen. The EU and LAS expressed their commitment to the previously reached international deals to resolve them and called on the warring parties to de-escalate. The next summit is expect to be held in Brussels in 2022.