The Forum for Promoting Economic Integration among Arab Countries, hosted by Cairo under the patronage of Egyptian Prime Minister Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, and in the presence of officials and ministers from several Arab countries, honored Secretary-General of the Union of Arab Chambers, Dr. Khaled Hanafi, who received the honorary shield from the Speaker of the Arab Parliament, Adel Al-Asoumi, and the Director General of the Arab Administrative Development Organization, Dr. Nasser Al-Qahtani.
The Secretary-General of the Union spoke, stressing that "the dream of Arab economic integration began since the establishment of the League of Arab States, but despite that, the path of progress in this field is still very slow, if not to say that nothing has been achieved at this level." Pointing out that "the path to achieving Arab economic integration is a long one, starting with the establishment of the Greater Arab Free Trade Area, and passing through the launch of the customs union between the Arab countries, leading to the Arab Common Market, but unfortunately none of these paths has been achieved until today, and this is what led to the reality of declining intra-Arab trade.
He stressed the "importance of shifting towards a new, unconventional path, by activating the reality of maritime trade, as although all Arab countries overlook the seas and oceans, maritime trade is not activated at all."
He said: “There are many restrictions that Arab governments could not agree to address for manifold reasons, starting with customs restrictions and passing through specifications, up to the high tariff, and these restrictions are very complex, whereas, in my capacity as Secretary-General of the Union of Arab Chambers, which is a representative of the Arab private sector, the Union has worked since its inception in 1951 on the dream of establishing the Arab Common Market, but to this day we still aspire to this dream, which in turn is still elusive due to the complex Arab reality and the different conditions in the Arab countries.”
He pointed out, “The importance of opening the way for young energies, as at the Arab Economic Development and Social Summit held in Beirut in 2019, the Union of Arab Chambers hosted part of its activities through the organization of the Arab Private Sector Forum, emphasis was placed on supporting entrepreneurs, with a special focus on supporting knowledge systems based on technology, digitization techniques, and the digital economy, which Arab youth can adapt to and sponsored by Arab governments and government agencies. Which leads to activating the capabilities of young energies, and achieving sustainable development in the Arab world, where Arab youth, if given the opportunity, can play an influential role within our Arab societies.”
It should be noted that the forum received official participation from Egypt and the Arab countries, where the Minister of Supply, Dr. Ali Al-Moselhi, represented the Egyptian Prime Minister, and Dr. Mohamed Maait, the Minister of Finance, also attended, Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, founder and president of Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Global, Dr. Amal Saleh Saad, Minister of Trade and Supply of the Republic of Sudan, Muhammad bin Obaid Al-Mazrouei, President of the Arab Authority for Agricultural Investment and Development, and Dr. Abdel Hamid Mamdouh, former director of the World Trade Organization.
The Egyptian Minister of Supply and Internal Trade, Dr. Ali Moselhi, affirmed in his opening speech to the forum on behalf of Prime Minister Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, the importance of enhancing trade exchange between Arab countries and accelerating the completion of the requirements of Arab free trade, developing the goals of inter-Arab trade and supporting Arab institutions that guarantee the implementation of economic cooperation to reach economic integration.
He said that the economic challenges facing Arab countries call for more exceptional efforts from Arab governments and the private sector to create the necessary conditions to achieve economic growth. He added that this forum constitutes an opportunity to exert more effort to address the challenges that prevent the achievement of economic growth in the Arab countries and the achievement of effective Arab economic integration.
The three-day forum aims to develop a future vision for Arab economic cooperation, strengthen economic relations, and achieve Arab productive integration that serves the strategic visions of Arab countries. It also discusses the importance of developing Arab legislation to promote Arab economic integration and the role of the public and private sectors in the field, especially in promoting inter-Arab trade.
Source (Union of Arab Chambers)
