June 29, 2010Arab social meeting due Wed. significant - Kuwaiti official
CAIRO, Kuwait's Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Dr. Mohammad Al-Afasi affirmed on Tuesday signficance of the Arab social affairs ministers meeting due here on Wednesday.
Speaking upon his arrival in the Egyptian capital on eve of the meeting, Al-Afasi expressed hope that the scheduled conference would conclude with "satisfactory results for all," noting the conferees would discuss the Third Arab Report for Social Development of 2010 and extent of the Arab states' effects of the global economic crisis.
They would discuss how Arab nations would practically benefit from the fund for supporting medium and small enterprises, set up upon an initiative by His Highness the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, during the Arab economic summit that was hosted by the Gulf state on January 19-20, 2009, the Kuwaiti official stated.(see article below)
The conference is due to address a host of other issues, namely a proposed report about objectives of the Arab development scheme and effects of the international financial crisis.
The report had been worked out by the Arab League in coordination with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) and other UN and international agencies.
Tomorrow's meeting will be held as an irregular gathering, intended to address social and development issues of common concern for the Arab states.
Al-Afasi was received upon arrival by the Kuwaiti Ambassador to Egypt, Rashid Al-Hamad, and the Kuwaiti deputy envoy at the Arab League, Advisor Ahmad Al-Baker.
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*** Arab summit seeks economic integration***
Arab News - January 21, 2009
The final session of the Arabs’ first-ever economic summit gave a rundown of the agreements: To launch a customs union in 2010, to set up a pan-Arab power grid and a rail network project.
The Kuwait Declaration called for “adopting monetary and fiscal policies to enable Arab nations to face the consequences of the global financial crisis.” According to one report, Arab countries have incurred losses of $2.5 trillion due to the economic turmoil.
The summit announced the establishment of an Arab Development Fund with capital of $2 billion to provide loans and assistance to establish small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Kuwait donated $500 million to the fund. The declaration urged “necessary steps to uplift the living standards of Arab citizens and to give priority to promoting inter-Arab investments.”
The Arab League estimates that Arab capital invested at home is equivalent to less than 20 percent of funds invested by Arab countries and businessmen in the United States and Europe.
“Despite progress made by some Arab nations, the Arab world is still facing many challenges... especially poverty, unemployment, poor inter-Arab trade and migration of Arab capital and brains,” the declaration said.
The leaders called for “strengthening the role of Arab funds and financial institutions by boosting their resources and easing restrictions on providing loans.”
The summit decided to establish the customs union by 2015 as a prelude to establishing an Arab common market in 2020.
Arab countries launched the Pan-Arab Free Trade Area about three years ago but it did little to boost commerce among members states, which remained at just between 10 percent and 12 percent of total Arab trade.
The summit also approved a resolution calling for measures that would halve the regional unemployment rate, which topped 14 percent last year, in the period between 2010 and 2020.
The leaders approved another resolution calling for the implementation of an Arab program for the reduction of poverty, which exceeds 40 percent in at least seven Arab nations.
They also approved a resolution calling for improved water security, one of the most acute problems facing the Arab world, where the desert makes up 68 percent of its area.
Although the Arab world occupies 10 percent of the world’s land and has five percent of the its population, its water resources are just a meager 0.59 percent of the world’s water.
http://archive.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=118391&d=21&m=1&y=2009
