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RIYADH, Jan 6 (KUNA) -- Secretary General of the Federation of GCC Chambers Abdul-Rahim Naqi hailed on Tuesday as "timely and crucial" the Arab Economic, Social and Development Summit to be held in Kuwait on Jan 19-20. "The summit which will coincide with the global financial crunch is expected to adopt major steps for enhancing the socio-economic development in the Arab countries," Naqi said here in a press release of which KUNA received a copy.
While urging development of mechanisms necessary for strict implementation of the possible decisions, the GCC official suggested convening the summit on a regular basis.
"The private sectors of the GCC member states pin high hopes on the summit that could set stage for a regional economic bloc under common clear-cut strategy," Naqi said.
The Arab countries have to work together in order to protect their common interests on one hand and enhance their contributions to the world economic growth on the other, he underscored.
Naqi called for removal of all obstacles facing joint investments of, and trade exchanges among, the Arab countries.
Citing statistics of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UN-ESCWA), he said the pace of Arab economic integration slowed down in the recent years with the bilateral trade volumes among Arab countries rising slightly in 2006.
The bilateral trade volumes among the Arab countries accounted for an average of only 11.3 percent of the total trade volumes of these countries in 2006 compared to 11.2 percent in the previous year, Naqi revealed.
The bilateral investments went down, accounting for 27.4 percent of the total foreign direct investments in the Arab countries in 2006, compared with 34 percent in the previous year.
The GCC official called on the participants in the summit to accelerates the pace of the implementation of the greater Arab free trade area through removal of non-customs constrains and unification the standard specifications and rules of country of origin. The summit has to work out a clear-cut road map outlining the necessary political and legal steps towards realizing the Arab common market within a specific timetable, he asserted.
Naqi urged facilitation of labor movement and improvement of the living conditions of laborers in order to enable them play a greater role in the economic development of the Arab countries and enhance the social development.
He also urged liberalization of service trade particularly in the domains of transport, communication and finance in order to create investment-friendly atmospheres. Concluding his statement, Naqi tanked Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) for its efforts to organize pre-summit activities such as the Arab Economic Integration Conference, held in Kuwait on November 11-12, 2008. (end) Ad.gb.
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