JEDDAH, 7 March 2004 - Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, wants a fresh Arab summit to give teeth to joint Arab action.

The crown prince and Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa in talks in the Moroccan city of Casablanca on Monday discussed the need for a fresh summit producing firm resolutions "to strengthen joint action," Moussa said.

The Saudi Press Agency quoted Moussa as saying there was now agreement on the time and place for the summit.

He later told Al-Hayat pan-Arab daily the summit was likely to be held in Tunisia in mid-May. He is on official tour of several states in northwest Africa.

Tunisia, which was supposed to host the summit in March, canceled the meeting because it said some Arab governments would not make a strong enough commitment to democracy and human rights, but other delegates dismissed that explanation.

Egypt, home to the Arab League headquarters, later spearheaded efforts to reconvene the meeting and had offered to host a rescheduled summit in Sharm El-Sheikh.

"There is consensus with all I have met that we must return to the summit, and quickly. We have more clarity with regard to the resumption of the summit and its place and time," Al-Hayat quoted him as saying.

He said Arab foreign ministers would meet in Cairo in the last week of this month. There will be no change in the main subjects of its agenda - reform, restructuring the Arab League and an Arab Middle East peace initiative, he added.

Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, who attended the Casablanca talks, said Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Syria would present a joint document at the summit.