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Dr. Khaled Hanafi, Secretary General of the UAC, received in its headquarters a delegation from the Alexandria Business Association, including Counselor Mohammed Sabri, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Sherif Al Diwani, CEO of the Association, accompanied by Hossam Farid, Advisor of the Minister of Trade and Industry of Egypt for SMEs and Entrepreneurship. During the meeting, they discussed the actual situation of the Arab economy and ways to strengthen cooperation between the Union of Arab Chambers and the Alexandria Business Association to help serve the Arab private sector better.
Dr. Hanafi made a briefing on the achievements of the Union of Arab Chambers from its inception until today, emphasizing on the role it played in activating Arab Cooperation, stating, "The Union is the true representative of the Arab private sector, acting like an observing member of the League of Arab States." He added, "UAC’s role is not limited to the development of the economic relationships among the Arab states, it serves as an important linkage between Arab and foreign Countries through its Joint Arab-Foreign Chambers and Joint Business Councils. These Chambers and Councils act as the gateway for Arab Countries to promote international trade."
He noted, "The Union of Arab Chambers does not deal with politics, because its main objective consists in achieving better Arab Economic Integration. Therefore, we hope recovery for the Arab countries which are currently facing crises, because this would positively affect the entire Arab world."
Dr. Hanafi introduced to the delegation the Arab dream concept of the “Digital Market project”, which the Union highly relies on, and which is similar to the Common Arab market, with hopes that Arab countries will adopt this project at the Economic and Social Summit scheduled early next year, in Beirut.
For his part, the Egyptian delegation praised the constructive and positive role played by the Union of Arab Chambers along these years. It also expressed the Alexandria Business Association’s keenness to enhance cooperation with the Union in the framework of promoting Joint Arab action, highlighting the importance of this cooperation, especially in light of the challenges facing the world today, between the United States and China on the one hand, and the United States and European countries, on the other.
The delegation also shed the light on the importance of interacting more closely with the digital world, namely at the edge of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, through encouraging the Arab Countries to start using artificial intelligence to help attract foreign Giant Companies, recalling the important role of the Digital Market Project in this matter. It urged on the necessity of enhancing the role played by SMEs as well as giving greater space to entrepreneurs to act as the cornerstone of the Arab economy.”