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10:11 GMT
(With photos) CAIRO, Jan 17 (KUNA) -- Egyptian economists on Saturday voiced optimism over the Arab Economic, Development and Social Summit in Kuwait on January 19-20 as a good opportunity for Arabs to unify ranks and to bury the hatchet.
The Kuwait summit comes at the right time when the Arab world is required to stand united in face of the fallout of the current global economic downturn, they told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA).
Dr. Karima Karim, a professor of economy at Al-Azhar University, hoped that the gathering would up with effective resolutions and recommendations aiming to alleviate the repercussions of the financial mayhem.
Arab policies should be devised in order to ease out the aftershocks of the economic crisis on Arab economies, she urged.
On the tragic situation in the Gaza Strip, she called on the Arab countries to use their influence and potential to cut Israel down to size and to force it to sop its savage aggression on the Palestinian territory.
Dr. Sharif Qassem, a professor of economy, told KUNA that the Arab world had moved too late to wriggle out of the global economic downturn.
He hoped that the Kuwait summit would be a good opportunity for the Arabs to come up with a pioneering economic example that could help end the economic crisis.
He also called for establishing an Arab central bank as a first positive step towards Arab economic integration, uniform financial policies, a single currency and effective investment policies.
For his part, Moatasim Rashid, representative of NGOs and economist, hailed the involvement of civil society organizations in the Kuwaiti summit.
The gathering, which comes at a critical time when the global economy is ailing, will focus on efforts to fend off more reflections on Arab economies in general.
He hailed the socioeconomic system based on market freedom and competition on the basis of an equal system. (end) bna.mt KUNA 171311 Jan 09NNNN