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Algeria industry minister stresses significant Kuwait summit

(With photos) ALGIERS, Dec 21 (KUNA) -- Algerian Minister of Small and Medium Enterprises and Craft Industry Mustapha Benbada underlined here Sunday the importance of a planned Arab economic summit in Kuwait in January.
The Kuwait summit will pave the way for Arab economic integration, and shore up Arab economic, financial and banking institutions, he told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA).
The summit comes at a time when Arab leaders are required to take decisive and landmark decisions in the interest of all Arab economies, he said.
Algerian will attend the summit with a high-level delegation, which will voice economic views and aspirations that concern the Arab world at large, the Algerian minister added.
He hoped that the economic gathering in Kuwait could come up with impressive resolutions that could lead to the alleviation of the fallout of the current global economic downturn.
The fact that Kuwait will play host to the summit in light of the international financial meltdown shows that it is eager to close Arab ranks, to buttress Arab economic integration and to find a way out of the economic crisis that has negatively affected all world economies, he said.
Algeria is viewing the summit as a good opportunity to create interlinked economic interests among Arab economic institutions, Benbada said.
No country can stand alone in face of the strong economic jolt, he said, noting that only "blocs of interest" could fortify many countries against economic risks.
On Arab investment in Algeria, the minister said there are 260 Arab institutions in operation in the country, including 70 small and medium-sized companies from Syria, Egypt, Tunisia, Jordan and Morocco.
There are also three major Kuwaiti institutions in Algeria, operating in health, service and communication areas, he said, noting that their over-USD-1-billion value exceeds that of over 60 small-sized corporations. (end) ft.mt KUNA 211344 Dec 08NNNN