Cairo: Egyptian President on Saturday said military action against Shia rebels in Yemen by 10-nation coalition led by Saudi Arabia was "inevitable" after a "foreign power" meddled in the country.
Egyptian President Abdel Fatteh el-Sissi also said that Arab countries are facing "unprecedented threats" to their stability and identity.
He also endorsed formation of a joint Arab military force in front of Arab foreign ministers.
Sisi in his address to the delegates called military action in Yemen "inevitable" after the meddling in the country by a "foreign power", which he did not name.
Sisi stressed that the future of the Arab nation depends on the decisions currently being taken by its leaders, amid rising challenges, in order that the future Arab countries won't simply be left with pride in past glories but no ability to change their present, Al Ahram reported.
The Egyptian President also met with Saudi King Salman bin Abdel-Aziz and Yemeni president Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi for "a tripartite summit" at Sharm El-Sheikh's international airport.
Salman invited Hadi to his country for negotiations about the situation in Yemen, under the umbrella of the Arab League.
UN General-Secretary Ban Ki-moon also participated in the two-day summit.
Moon said that he has "repeatedly condemned the attempts by the Houthis and former president Saleh to undermine political agreements by military force. I take note that military action has been undertaken at the request of Yemen?s sovereign and legitimate leader, President Hadi."
"Negotiations remain the only chance to prevent a long, drawn-out conflict. It is my fervent hope that at this Arab League summit, leaders will lay down clear guidelines to peacefully resolve the crisis in Yemen," he said.
A two-day summit of the Arab League began today just days after a regional coalition led by Saudi Arabia launched air strikes against the Houthi rebels who have taken control of several major cities in Yemen.
Saudi Arabia has already begun air-strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen, the region's most impoverished country, now on the brink of civil war, with potential to become a battleground for Riyadh-Tehran rivalry. Iran has denounced the air-strikes.