European Union countries view the summit as a way to protect their traditional diplomatic, economic and security interests while China and Russia move to fill a vacuum left by the United States. Tusk, the president of the European Council who organises summits for EU countries, acknowledged "there are differences between us" but said neighbours had more at stake than distant powers.
"We need to cooperate and not leave it to global powers far from our region," the former Polish premier told leaders from about 40 countries. He did not name those powers but an EU source confirmed he meant China and Russia. China is increasing trade with the region and has established a military base in Djibouti.
Russia militarily backs Syria''s President Bashar al-Assad in his civil war. EU sources said the first EU-Arab summit is all the more important as the United States "disengages" from the region while Russia and China make inroads. "We don''t want to see this vacuum soaked up by Russia and China," one of the sources told AFP.
The summit in the southern Sinai desert is heavily guarded by Egyptian security forces who are fighting a bloody jihadist insurgency a short distance to the north. The presence of so many leaders shows "what brings together the two regions, Arab and European, exceeds immeasurably what divides them", Sisi told those gathered.
Sisi called for resolving the decades-old Palestinian-Israeli conflict and settling more recent wars and conflicts in Libya, Yemen and Syria. "The picture is in fact bleak at present," said Sisi, who led the army''s overthrow of president Mohamed Morsi in 2013 following mass protests against the Islamist leader''s rule.
He called for Arab and EU economic cooperation and warned of "mounting risks and challenges" including terrorism and migration. "Has not the time come to agree on a comprehensive approach on combatting terrorism?" Sisi asked.