The Syrian opposition is engaged in a meeting in Cairo, hosted by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry and the Arab League. The aim of the 40 participating groups is to launch a more inclusive alliance than the Western backed Syrian National Coalition. Haytham Manna, a leading Syrian opposition figure and one of the organizers of the conference, said that the conference aims at a negotiated political solution based on the Geneva Declaration and UN resolutions. Sameh Shoukry, the Egyption Foreign Minister, addressed the opening session of Monday's Cairo conference, calling it a "starting point" for a new political solution. At the same time, Damascus hosted a group of former European Union MPs who stressed the need to stand up to the terrorism and extremism that threatens Syria. Hazem Abdullah reports from Damascus.