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(With photos) CAIRO, Nov 19 (KUNA) -- Minister of Finance Mustafa Al-Shimali arrived here on Wednesday where he is to inaugurate a preparatory meeting for the upcoming Arab Economic Social Summit scheduled to be held in Kuwait, 19-20 January 2009.
At Cairo International Airport, Al-Shimali told reporters that Kuwait holds extreme significance to the approaching summit held under the initiative of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
Hope was expressed by Al-Shimali, that the summit would be a productive one towards further economical cooperation and allowing a freer role for the private sector in the development of Arab economies.
He said that his next stop was Algeria, where he is to attend a meeting for the Kuwaiti-Algerian joint committee.
Receiving the finance minister at the airport was Kuwaiti permanent envoy to the Arab League Abdullah Al-Mansour and Kuwait's Charge d'Affaires in Cairo Fahad Al-Dhafeeri.
The preparatory Arab Summit committee will hold its meeting at the Arab League Cairo headquarters on Thursday.
Members of the committee are Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, Qatar and Tunisia as well as the Arab League who will revise the committee's final preparatory proceedings. (end) kz.mah.rj.sd KUNA 191803 Nov 08NNNN