1990 Arab League Emergency Summit

On August 10, 1990, an emergency Arab League summit was held in Cairo, Egypt, to address the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, which had begun on August 2. It was initially scheduled for August 9 but was postponed due to differences in viewpoints. However, some spokespersons indicated that the delay was intended to allow the Tunisian and Yemeni delegations additional time to arrive.

The summit was convened at the invitation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. In a departure from standard procedure, no preparatory meeting of foreign ministers was held to establish the summit’s agenda. Tunisia, which hosted the Arab League headquarters at the time, did not attend the summit after its request to postpone the meeting until after a ministerial session was denied. The timing of President Mubarak's call for the summit coincided with a speech by U.S. President George H. W. Bush announcing the deployment of American forces to Saudi Arabia, as well as Iraq's declaration of unity with Kuwait, calling it "final and irreversible".