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Dr. Ashraf Al-Arabi, Deputy Director-General of the Arab Planning Institute and former Egyptian Minister of Planning, Follow-up and Administrative Reform, visited the headquarters of the Union of Arab Chambers, and met with Dr. Khaled Hanafi, Secretary-General of the Union, in presence of Mrs. Kashtan, Director of the Joint Arab Foreign Chambers, and Mrs. May Dimashkieh Sarhal, Director of Economic Research as well as Mr. Mezher, News & Media Officer.
During the meeting, they discussed the mechanisms of cooperation between the Union of Arab Chambers and the Arab Planning Institute in ways that serve best the interests of both, the private sector and Arab economy.
Dr. Hanafi, addressed the Minister, the work of the Union of Arab Chambers from its inception until today and the role it has played in activating Arab cooperation, stressing that "the Union is the real representative of the Arab private sector and its role is not limited to the development of economic relations between Arab countries."
Later on, he exposed the Digital Market project, which he considers as an Arab dream equals to the Common Arab Market, with hopes that the Arab countries will adopt it at the Economic and Social Summit scheduled early next year in Beirut.
For his part, Al-Arabi praised the constructive and positive role played by the Union of Arab Chambers all along these years, and expressed the keenness of the Arab Planning Institute in strengthening cooperation with the Union and promoting Joint Arab action, especially in light of the challenges facing the World today, with US and China standing on one side and United States and Europe on the other.