Algiers, March 21 (NNN-APS) The fifth conference of Al Quds Foundation will be held here from March 26 to 28, Algerian Religious Affairs Minister Bouabdallah Ghlamallah said.

It will be attended by more than 400 Muslim and Christian personalities known for their support for the liberation of Palestine, he told journalists here Monday.

"Algeria will host this conference after Lebanon and Yemen as a response to a request from the Foundation's head, Yusuf al-Qaradawi, to President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, in view of Algeria's unfailing support for the Palestinian people," he told a news conference.

The meeting aims to extend the support for the Palestinian people worldwide and to seek ways likely to help back up their struggle against Zionist colonialism, he said.

Ghlamallah added that, in this regard, Algeria's participation would be confined to the provision of accommodation for participants and their plane tickets.

"The Al Quds (Jerusalem) Foundation is the only organizer of this conference, and remains then free to choose participants and the topics to be submitted for debate," he said.

Meanwhile, visiting Syrian Vice President Farouk al-Sharaa said here Monday that he hopes to see the next Arab summit in Riyadh reach outcomes which match up to the current challenges facing Arabs, "whether in Iraq, Palestine or Darfur".

He told journalists after a meeting with President Bouteflika that the issue of the Arab national security remained the fundamental point on which all Arabs needed to face several challenges.

He was convinced the Riyadh summit would provide a favourable climate for bilateral meetings between President Bouteflika and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and for their meetings with other Arab leaders.

Al-Sharaa said his meeting with President Bouteflika was “positive, constructive and comprehensive" and that he had delivered a message to the Algerian president concerning the situation in the Middle East in general.