UAC Secretary-General, Dr. Khaled Hanafi has participated in the extraordinary ministerial meetings of the Arab Economic and Social Council at the headquarters of the Secretariat General of the Arab League in Cairo, to prepare for the "4th Arab Development, Economic and Social Summit," which will be held in Beirut on January 20, 2019.
The draft agenda includes 24 items, and has a number of topics, among which is reinforcing Arab economic and social integration in various fields, such as Arab food security, including the Sudan Initiative on Arab Food Security, and integration and trade in agricultural, plant and livestock production.
The Arab Summit will also discuss two main proposals related to the issue of financing for development. The first proposal addresses the creation of a portfolio or a banking alliance between Arab Financial Institutions in order to finance Arab Economic and Social Integration projects adopted at previous Arab Summits. Among these projects, the most prominent one concerns the Arab Railway Link, the Arab Common market for electricity, and the Arab food security project. The second proposal includes the Aid for trade project portfolio, which aims at supporting the structure of trade services in Arab countries, in addition to developing their legislation, and promoting regional competitiveness and trade integration.
The Summit is also slated to tackle the issue related to supporting Palestine’s economy including the strategic plan for sectoral development in Al Quds (2018-2022), in addition to items related to the developments of establishing a greater Arab free trade zone and finalizing requirements for constructing an Arab customs union, the Arab charter for promoting SMEs, the Arab strategy for sustainable energy 2030, the launching of an Arab common market for electricity, and the strategic vision for enhancing and activating joint Arab action between the tourism and culture sectors in the Arab countries.
It is also scheduled to shed light on the Arab strategy for the eradication of multidimensional poverty 2030 and a family action plan for the Arab region in the context of the implementation of sustainable development goals 2030.
Source (Union of Arab Chambers, Edited)
