Preliminary meetings open in Jordan ahead of Arab Summit

DEAD SEA, Jordan, March 23 (KUNA) -- Preparatory meetings for the forthcoming 28th Arab Summit opened in the wondrous Dead Sea on Thursday, 55 kilometers southwest of the capital Amman, with participation of a Kuwaiti delegation.
Kuwait's delegation to the meetings, which aim to set the stage for the Arab Summit, comprised the Kuwaiti Ministry of Finance's Assistant Undersecretary Sami Al-Saqabi, the ministry's Director of the Arab and Gulf Economic Cooperation Department Yousef Al-Roumi and Inspector of Arab Affairs Zuwaid Al-Mutairi.
In a speech to kick off the meetings, Secretary General of the Jordanian Ministry of Commerce and Industry Yousef Al-Shimali said that the Arab world's rich natural resources and human development should serve as further incentive for increased economic cooperation.
On the summit, he said that Jordan will "leave no stone unturned in efforts to solve some of the most perennial problems plaguing the Arab world, adding that there has to be "collective determination" to ratchet up Arab cooperation.
Meanwhile, the Arab League's Assistant Undersecretary for Social Affairs Bader el-Din Al-Allali said that senior officials in the Arab Economic and Social Council will be discussing a number of significant issues, in a prelude to a subsequent ministerial-level meeting.
He also noted that "the economic and social sectors are the pillars of cooperation in the Arab world." On a related note, a meeting of Arab Foreign Ministers is also scheduled prior to the Arab Summit, followed by a ministerial-level meeting of the Arab Economic and Social Council, all of which will pave the way for the Arab Summit on March 29th. (end) mjb.nam