Moussa says League leads Arab action, stance must be taken against attackers

KUWAIT, Jan 17 (KUNA) -- The Arab League leads Arab action and a stance needs to be taken against those attacking it, because this would mean knocking down the Arab entity as a whole, said Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa on Saturday.
Speaking at the inauguration of the "Private Sector and Civil Society Forum, " held on the sidelines of the Arab Economic Summit, he said the situation in Gaza Strip had imposed itself on this economic event and changed the "general mood." He said the circumstances had pushed toward greater tension and chaos among the Arab states, underscoring the need to support the Arab League against "all those who are trying to undermine it or overtake it." He said the League was the leader of Arab action and without it there was no Arab entity, describing the Arab political situation as "abnormal" and having "grave indications." Today, he said, "we face not only an increasingly complicated situation in Gaza, but also the also tension that surfaced in Arab arena" that was leading to "chaos" and would lead to "greater conflicts - making Arab stance abnormal." Thus, Moussa said, there was no way out but to work with insistence on problems of people away from the abnormal political stances in Arab world.
The secretary general said the occupation of the Palestinian territories was a serious problem that needed to be addressed, "and yes, Arab political chaos needs to be addressed, but so does the backwardness in the Arab world." There is a need to address the developmental issues listed on the summit's agenda, he said, noting that preparations for the summit were one year in making and that it was agreed to launch a new, strong basis of balanced roles for Arab governments, institutions, private sectors, civil societies "to make proposals here realistic and based on the aspirations of the Arab people." He thanked the Kuwaiti leadership and people for understanding the importance of Arab economic work within Arab League framework and preparing for this summit, which he said he was confident "will be successful." Moussa also hailed the Egyptian leadership for jointly adopting this initiative with Kuwait, where for the first time, the private sector and civil societies were in partnership with governments to prepare for the event.
"I think we must work under such partnerships in the future in anything related to people's affairs, at least in the Arab League," he said.
The secretary general said the weakness in infrastructure of Arab economy was an issue that needed to be addressed, as well as education, as the standards of graduates were not consistent with the requirements of the labor market.
Other challenges faced by Arab states, he added, included the free trade zone, from which they could move to the customs union, then on to the common market, and transportation projects.
All of these are vital for Arab development, but education is what forms an individual and should be accorded attention, he concluded. (end) kt KUNA 171128 Jan 09NNNN