Claim: Egypt is a founding member of the Arab League.

The Arab League , formally the League of Arab States , is a regional organization of Arab countries in and around North Africa , the Horn of Africa and Arabia . It was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945 with six members : Kingdom of Egypt , Kingdom of Iraq , Transjordan -LRB- renamed Jordan in 1949 -RRB- , Lebanon , Saudi Arabia , and Syria . Yemen joined as a member on 5 May 1945 . Currently , the League has 22 members , but Syria 's participation has been suspended since November 2011 , as a consequence of government repression during the Syrian Civil War .   The League 's main goal is to `` draw closer the relations between member States and co-ordinate collaboration between them , to safeguard their independence and sovereignty , and to consider in a general way the affairs and interests of the Arab countries '' .   Through institutions , such as the Arab League Educational , Cultural and Scientific Organization -LRB- ALECSO -RRB- and the Economic and Social Council of the Arab League 's Council of Arab Economic Unity -LRB- CAEU -RRB- , the Arab League facilitates political , economic , cultural , scientific , and social programmes designed to promote the interests of the Arab world . It has served as a forum for the member states to coordinate their policy positions , to deliberate on matters of common concern , to settle some Arab disputes and to limit conflicts such as the 1958 Lebanon crisis . The League has served as a platform for the drafting and conclusion of many landmark documents promoting economic integration . One example is the Joint Arab Economic Action Charter , which outlines the principles for economic activities in the region .   Each member state has one vote in the League Council , and decisions are binding only for those states that have voted for them . The aims of the league in 1945 were to strengthen and coordinate the political , cultural , economic and social programs of its members and to mediate disputes among them or between them and third parties . Furthermore , the signing of an agreement on Joint Defence and Economic Cooperation on 13 April 1950 committed the signatories to coordination of military defence measures . In March 2015 , the Arab League General Secretary announced the establishment of a Joint Arab Force with the aim of counteracting extremism and other threats to the Arab States . The decision was reached while Operation Decisive Storm was intensifying in Yemen . Participation in the project is voluntary , and the army intervenes only at the request of one of the member states . The growing militarization of the region and the increase in violent civil wars as well as terrorist movements are the reason behind the creation of the JAF , financed by the rich Gulf countries .   In the early 1970s , the Economic Council of the League of Arab States put forward a proposal to create the Joint Arab Chambers of Commerce across the European states . That led , under the decree of the League of Arab States no . K1175/D52/G , to the decision by the Arab governments to set up the Arab British Chamber of Commerce which was mandated to `` promote , encourage and facilitate bilateral trade '' between the Arab world and its major trading partner , the United Kingdom .