1990 Arab League summit (Baghdad)

The 1990 Arab League summit, held in Baghdad, Iraq, from May 28 to May 30, 1990, was a significant gathering of leaders from Arab nations. The summit primarily focused on the escalating tensions between Iraq and Kuwait over oil policies, border disputes, and Iraq's accusations of Kuwait manipulating oil prices to harm the Iraqi economy, which was struggling after the Iran-Iraq War.

A major outcome of the summit was a resolution intended to mediate the dispute between Iraq and Kuwait. While outwardly appearing to promote Arab solidarity, the summit failed to resolve the core issues underlying the tensions. Notably, the resolutions adopted did not adequately address Iraq’s financial grievances against Kuwait, nor did they definitively settle the border claims.

The summit also addressed other regional concerns, including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the ongoing situation in Lebanon. However, the overwhelming preoccupation with the Iraqi-Kuwaiti tensions overshadowed these other issues.

The failure of the 1990 Baghdad summit to diffuse the growing crisis between Iraq and Kuwait is often seen as a contributing factor to the subsequent Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in August 1990, which led to the Persian Gulf War. The summit highlighted the deep divisions within the Arab League and its inability to effectively prevent inter-Arab conflicts.