By Talal Al-Kayed
DAMASCUS, Jan 1 (KUNA) -- A Syrian economist expressed hope Thursday that the Arab Economic Summit, set to be held in Kuwait on January 19-20, would succeed in achieving aspirations for Arab economic integration.
Member of the Damascus Chamber of Commerce, Mohammad Al-Qallaa, told KUNA that the summit was being held amidst critical political and economic circumstances, saying that what was needed was for Arabs to remove obstacles hindering economic integration.
Citing some of these obstacles, he said that one was the "greater Arab partnership" agreement, which had progressed but was facing administrative hurdles related to borders.
He hoped that an Arab economic bloc would be established, thus paving the way for implementing the common Arab market project, noting the need for coordination between Arab states in terms of production instead of exporting raw materials abroad.
"The time has come for us to have a serious Arab bloc that can withstand economic crises and their impact on Arab people," he said. (end) tk.ema KUNA 011214 Jan 09NNNN