During the opening of the Arab Private Sector Economic Summit, held in Amman - the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan on 19-10-2023, the President of the Union of Arab Chambers, Samir Abdullah Nass, called for stopping the massacre in the Gaza Strip to achieve peace. This strategic choice requires everyone in all countries of the world to protect civilians in accordance with international humanitarian law, advance the efforts of the peace process, and establish a Palestinian state in accordance with the two-state solution and resolutions of international legitimacy.

The President of the Union indicated that the Arab private sector is one of the most important tools of economic growth in all countries of the world, due to its contributions to GDP, economic growth rates, the labor market, and employment of manpower. He pointed out that the Arab private sector represents approximately 75 percent of the Arab GDP and absorbs the same amount of Arab citizens in the labor market, necessitating cooperation with Arab governments, to redouble efforts to achieve Arab economic and social integration.

He explained that this cooperation is a fundamental pillar to advance joint Arab economic and social integration and to achieve economic and social development for Arab countries and make them more capable of integrating into the global economy.

Nass called for the development of an Arab strategy for digital transformation based on the global digital revolution. Which aims to develop the legislative and technological digital infrastructure and work together to implement energy interconnection projects between Arab countries, develop an Arab strategy for renewable energy, address the obstacles facing the transport sector, and achieve the interconnection of land, sea, and air transport networks between Arab countries.

For his part, Chairman of the Jordan Chamber of Commerce Khalil Haj Tawfiq expressed his thanks and appreciation to His Majesty King Abdullah for sponsoring the summit and conference.

"Yesterday we were talking and dreaming of establishing an Arab economic unit, but today our utmost hope has become to search for a way to stop the Israeli aggression and spare the blood of the people in the Gaza Strip," he said.

He added: "Our steadfast people in the Gaza Strip live in a bitter reality imposed by the usurping occupier, who not only killed, destroyed, and permitted everything that moves over the land of the Strip, but also toured and attacked everyone day and night using the modern killing machine of weapons, planes, and missiles that targeted unarmed civilians, including women, children and the elderly, and destroyed infrastructure."

Hajj Tawfiq pointed out that the Gaza Strip suffers from a tight Israeli blockade that caused hospitals to go out of work and cut off electricity, water, food, and medical supplies, amid international silence.

For his part, the Secretary-General of the Union of Arab Chambers, Dr. Khaled Hanafi, expressed his thanks and appreciation to His Majesty King Abdullah II for his high patronage of the conference and Jordan for hosting its work.

Hanafi said that holding the conference is a message from the Arab private sector that it is strong, alive, and in solidarity and capable of influencing the course of affairs and events, pointing to the presence of representatives of the Arab private sector from 15 countries.

Hanafi pointed out that part of the presence in the field is also through economic affairs and joint initiatives must be launched from the Arab private sector that serve as a message to the world that we are capable of change and have a role in changing the course of events and felt by the Arab citizen.

The Secretary-General of the Union of Arab Chambers, Dr. Khaled Hanafi, confirmed during the work of the Conference of Arab Businessmen and Investors and the First Economic Summit of the Arab Private Sector, on October 18 and 19, 2023 in Amman - the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan with the participation of 14 Arab countries and 5 foreign countries, that Palestine, whose delegation was unable to come to Amman, where the President of the Federation of Palestinian Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture delivered a speech via Zoom technology was the most prominent speech present in all corridors of the conference, considering that the decision of the Union Arab Chambers Suspension of the work of the Conference of Arab Businessmen and Investors, in solidarity with Palestine and the people of Gaza, rejection of Israeli aggression and targeting of unarmed civilians, and the issuance of the "Amman Declaration" and the "Statement of Support for the Palestinian People", is a message of support towards the Palestinian brothers.

He stressed that the Union of Arab Chambers, the true representative of the Arab private sector, is keen to support the Palestinians and the Palestinian economy by all possible means in order to provide all the elements of survival and steadfastness in their land. Especially in light of the Israeli occupation, which has never complied with legitimacy and international resolutions that stipulate the right of the Palestinian people to live in dignity in their land and homeland.

He stressed that the Union of Arab Chambers is ready to work with all possibilities and means in order to raise the level of coordination and cooperation with all those who took an honorable position and rejected the killing, displacement, and systematic displacement of innocent civilians and alleviating their suffering and injustice.

He stressed that the Union of Arab Chambers, representing the Arab private sector, will not stand idly by in the face of what is happening against the people of Palestine and the Gaza Strip and that it will not hesitate to use economic weapons in order to support the Palestinian brothers and the Palestinian economy.

He concluded by saying that the adoption of the Arab Chambers, representing the Arab private sector, said his word, and this is an honorable historical position, which indicates that the Arab countries, with their unity, are able to make a change and impose their presence and strategic importance towards anyone who tries to impose their will and domination by force.

The Assistant Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, Head of the Social Affairs Sector, Dr. Haifa Abu-Ghazaleh, who delivered a speech on behalf of the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, referred to the efforts and endeavors made by the League to stop the crimes of ethnic cleansing and collective punishment to which Palestinians are systematically subjected, and the crimes to which the people of the Gaza Strip are subjected that violated all humanitarian norms and the attempt to forcibly displace.

She said that the League of Arab States is not only an association for documenting political action, but also extends to other areas related to human well-being and the achievement of development in its comprehensive concept in order to achieve the Arab sense of unity of destiny and purposes, which will not be complete without the vision of the Palestinian people recovering their land and enjoying their stolen right to development.

She added that the Arab region is suffering from the consequences of intractable local crises and other intertwined and successive global crises that have left heavy burdens, as the purchasing power of large segments of our societies has declined, and inflation and debt rates have risen to worrying levels affected by fluctuations in energy and food prices and fluctuating global supply chains.

Abu Ghazaleh explained that the implementation of plans to revive the development process and push it forward requires maximizing the role of the Arab private sector to enable it to play a greater role in wealth creation, and to assist Arab governments in their efforts to provide decent and sustainable job opportunities.

She stressed that everyone relies a lot on the role of the Arab private sector as a strategic partner to face the current challenges in accordance with an Arab vision that understands reality and focuses on the priorities of the region, especially as it has untapped energies that enable it to exploit Arab opportunities and play a regional and international role in development.

Abu Ghazaleh pointed out that the League of Arab States has made tangible achievements to promote Arab economic integration and facilitate the movement of intra-Arab trade, including the Greater Arab Free Trade Area, the Arab Trade Area in Services, which has been in force since 2019, and the launch of the Arab Common Market for Electricity at the beginning of this month.

 

Interventions and Stances

The President of the Federation of Syrian Chambers of Commerce, Commissioner Mazen Hammad, described what is happening in the Gaza Strip as massacres and horrific crimes against the people of the Gaza Strip, especially in the Baptist Hospital, stressing the need to speed up the cessation of aggression and protect lives.

Hammad said that today we are required to take a firm position in which we establish an effective Arab institution and build on the previous decisions of the Union so that the Arab sector is effective in all forums and blocs.

For his part, the head of the Federation of Iraqi Chambers of Commerce Abdul Razzaq Al-Zuhairi that the basic work that we must do today is to stop the Israeli aggression on Gaza, stressing the need to activate the economic boycott with the Israeli occupation state.

The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Amman Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Sheikh Faisal Al-Rawas, presented a proposal on the need to focus on the economic aspect and prepare a list of Palestinian products that can be purchased and increase their presence and share in the Arab markets to provide sustainable support to the Palestinian economy.

The President of the Federation of Palestinian Chambers, Abdo Idris, said that we look forward to stopping the aggression, the waterfall of blood and tragedy in the Gaza Strip, the entry of medicines, medical and food supplies, and the restoration of electricity and water as soon as possible for fear of a major humanitarian catastrophe.

For his part, the head of the delegation of the Federation of Saudi Chambers, Imad Al-Fakhri, expressed his sincere sympathy to the people of Palestine for the martyrs of the nation and the innocents who died in the aggression launched by the occupation state on the Gaza Strip and that the Palestinian people obtain their legitimate rights.

The Vice Chairman of the Qatari-Jordanian Business Council, Khalifa Al-Muslimani, said that the Qatari private sector is one of the first supporters of the Palestinian cause through many initiatives it offers inside the Palestinian territories, saluting the steadfastness of the people of the Gaza Strip in the face of aggression.

The head of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, and Agriculture in Tripoli and North Lebanon, Tawfiq Daboussi, called for strengthening unity among the Union of Arab Chambers and achieving solidarity between them to serve Arab causes, considering the Palestinian cause fateful and everything that is happening on its territory by the occupation state is rejected.

The President of the Federation of Libyan Chambers of Commerce, Industry, and Agriculture, Mohammed Al-Raed, stressed that the convening of the first summit of the Arab private sector is necessary, stressing the need to exert more efforts at various levels, especially Arab businessmen, to stop the aggression.

For his part, the President of the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce Ahmed Al-Wakeel stressed the need to strengthen cooperation between the Arab private sector and unify work in order to face the challenges and rapid changes that the world is witnessing.

The President of the University of Moroccan Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Services, Hussein Alioui, affirmed the permanent and absolute support of the Palestinian people against the Israeli aggression, calling for the lifting of the siege on Gaza.

Aliwi explained that his country supports all efforts and initiatives that achieve the aspirations of the Palestinian people, stressing the importance of establishing forums and conferences in Palestine, supporting Palestinian products, and boycotting Israeli products.

 

Statement of Support for the Palestinian People

At the conclusion of the 20th session of the Arab Businessmen and Investors Conference and the First Arab Private Sector Economic Summit, held in Amman – The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan during the period 18 and 19 October 2023, organized by the Union of Arab Chambers, the League of Arab States and the Jordan Chamber of Commerce, the following statement was issued:

The conferees addressed to the brotherly Palestinian people a message of support and solidarity for the genocide they are subjected to as a result of the war on the Gaza Strip. The conferees declared their rejection of what is happening in the Palestinian territories at the hands of the Israeli occupation of siege, starvation, and unjust settlement, demanding the implementation of international resolutions that stipulate the right of the Palestinian people to live in dignity on their land.

The conferees condemn in the strongest terms all forms of killing, shelling, and destruction practiced by the Israeli occupation, and the ongoing attempts today to displace two million Palestinians from the Gaza Strip after they had lost over the past decades and years the largest part of their land in Palestine, which is dear to the hearts of all Arabs.

The conferees noted that the Arab private sector will not stand idly by in the face of what is happening against the people of the Gaza Strip, and will not hesitate to use economic weapons in order to support the Palestinian brothers and the Palestinian economy, by working to promote Palestinian industries and products to access Arab and international markets.

The conferees announced the readiness of the Arab private sector to work with all possibilities and means in order to raise the level of coordination and cooperation with all those who stood in an honorable position and rejected the killing, displacement, and expulsion of innocent civilians and alleviating the suffering and injustice to which the Palestinian brothers are subjected at the hands of the Israeli occupation forces.

The conferees called for the private sector, chambers, federations of Arab chambers, and Arab financial institutions to provide urgent in-kind, financial, and material assistance to the people of the Gaza Strip.

The conferees affirm that the Palestinian cause will remain the central issue with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital. The conferees declare extending a hand of cooperation to our brothers in Palestine, standing by them and supporting them by all possible means and means, in order to provide all the elements of survival, steadfastness, and living in dignity on their land.

Source (Union of Arab Chambers)