(VOVworld)- The 4th Africa-Arab World Summit meeting opened on Wednesday in the Equatorial Guinean capital Malabo with around 60 leaders from the two regions participating.

Under the theme "Together for sustainable development and economic cooperation," this year's summit focused on the "assessment of the progress achieved in the implementation of the action plan" adopted at the 3rd summit held in Kuwait in 2013, according to reports from Malabo. The discussions also focused on "ways likely to deepen this cooperation framework at a time when Africa and the Arab world are working to collectively take up the common challenges they are facing." At the summit, African Union President Nkosazama Dlamini Zuma called on the youth of the two regions to promote their communication and cooperation in order to face the challenges of the new era. The Africa-Arab Summit is the supreme policy organ of the Africa-Arab Partnership. It adopts the long and short term action plans and strategies of the partnership. The first Africa-Arab summit was held in Cairo, Egypt, in 1977. Since 2010, the summit has been held every 3 years alternatively in African and Arabic countries, with the second held in Libya, and the third in Kuwait.