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Riyadh: Saudi Arabia has announced March 27 and 28 as official holidays for all employees and students in Riyadh.
The days off coincide with the convention of the Arab Summit to be hosted by Saudi Arabia.
"A directive was issued by King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz to have Tuesday and Wednesday, March 27 and 28, as a holiday on the occasion of the Arab Summit due to be held in Riyadh," Mohammad Bin Ali Al Fayez, the Saudi Minister of Civil Service, said in a statement.
He added that avoidance of traffic jams in Riyadh city during the days of the Arab summit was behind the decision.
Arab leaders, who will gather in the Saudi capital, will discuss a range of regional issues, including the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the Iraqi issue. Arab League Secretary-General Amr Mousa has urged the international community not to stand by watching the situation in Iraq.
Saudi foreign minister Prince Saud Al Faisal said earlier that Saudi Arabia would support any Arab decision to change or develop the Arab peace plan, which was passed by the Arab League summit held in Beirut in 2002.
But on Tuesday the foreign minister rejected Israel's proposal to change the initiative during the Riyadh summit. "Israel initially accepted the plan, but started to speak about conditional agreement while the Arabs don't have conditions. We don't have a plan to negotiate a conditional matter," the Saudi foreign minister was quoted as saying during a joint press conference with Javier Solana, the EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, in Riyadh on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Prince Saud expressed surprise over the source of circulated news that a Lebanese reconciliation meeting would be held in Saudi Arabia. He noted that if the Lebanese rival factions had set the ground for agreement, their meeting in Saudi Arabia would be welcome.
"If their meeting in Saudi Arabia will lead to forging a solution that guarantees equilibrium, stability and the development of Lebanon, that meeting is, no doubt, a source of welcome," the foreign minister said.
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