Arab leaders pledged to remove obstacles to finalizing a free trade zone this year and agreed to facilitate capital flows, as they wrapped up an economic summit in Riyadh on Tuesday.

"We stress our determination to complete all the prerequisites of (forming) the free trade area before the end of this year," Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi said at the end of the third Arab Economic and Social Summit.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati discussed with Saudi Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz ways to steer Lebanon clear of the developments in the region, the PM's press office said in a statement on Tuesday.

It said the meeting was held on Monday night in the presence of Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal and the Lebanese delegation to Riyadh that included FM Adnan Mansour, Finance Minister Mohammed al-Safadi, Economy Minister Nicolas Nahas and Industry Minister Vrej Sabounjian.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati held talks on Monday with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal, while stressing on Sunday the importance of maintaining Lebanon's stability amid the unrest in Syria.

He emphasized the need to “spare Lebanon future instability.”

A prominent Muslim group in Austria called Wednesday on Saudi Arabia to allow a church to be built there, arguing that Riyadh supported mosques in Catholic countries.

"The liberal Muslims hereby request the construction of a church in Saudi Arabia," the group said in a letter to Saudi ambassador Mohammed al-Salloum, asking him to pass this demand on to the "appropriate authorities" in Riyadh.

A Saudi passenger train heading from the kingdom's eastern city of Dammam to the capital Riyadh derailed on Wednesday, causing injuries but no deaths, a senior transportation official said.

Hamad Abdel Qader, deputy chief of operations at the Saudi Railways Organization, told Agence France Presse that the train derailed "100 kilometers (62 miles) east of Riyadh."

Bahrain on Thursday warned Iran to stop interfering in its internal affairs while affirming its support for a union between the six nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Foreign Minister Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa made the remarks a day after Iran called on its people to protest on Friday against the union that Gulf officials say will start with Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia on Sunday renewed a warning to its citizens to leave Syria and not to travel to the country, hit by over a year of deadly unrest.

"Due to the continuing deterioration of the security situation in Syria, the foreign ministry renews its warning to all citizens from travelling to Syria," the ministry said in a statement carried by the SPA state news agency.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat will remain in the cabinet and is committed to his alliance with Hizbullah, al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Tuesday.

“Although they have different stances regarding the Syrian revolution, Jumblat is committed to his alliance with Hizbullah,” sources close to the PSP leader told the daily.

Foreign ministers of the six Gulf monarchies are to hold a special meeting in Riyadh after Iran's president visited an island in the Gulf claimed by the United Arab Emirates, a UAE official said on Friday.

Wednesday's Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) meeting in the Saudi capital comes at the request of the UAE, which recalled its envoy to Tehran on Thursday after Mahmoud Ahmadinejad went to the disputed island of Abu Musa, the official said.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Riyadh Friday for talks with Saudi leaders as she kicked off a two-country tour aimed at raising pressure on the Syrian regime, the U.S. embassy there said.

"Mrs. Clinton has arrived in Riyadh for talks with senior Saudi officials," an embassy spokesman said.