The World - News from May 14, 1989

The Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries voted to readmit Egypt, 10 years after Cairo’s membership was suspended for signing a peace treaty with Israel, Kuwait’s oil minister, Sheik Ali al Khalifa al Sabah, said. Cairo’s reinstatement, a step back into the Arab fold, was a “foregone conclusion,” one source said. Ali declined to say whether the vote was unanimous, but sources said Libya cast a negative ballot. Libya and Syria have tried to block Egypt’s return to Arab organizations, although Damascus in recent months has moderated its stand.