Preparatory meeting begins ahead of Baghdad's 34th Arab Summit

BAGHDAD, May 12 (KUNA) -- The senior officials' preparatory meeting of the Economic and Social committee began on Monday ahead of the 34th Arab Summit in Baghdad scheduled on May 17.
This is the first meeting in a series of preparatory gatherings, which is also held ahead of the fifth Development Summit, also scheduled in the Iraqi capital. The meeting began with the work of the committee responsible for follow-up and preparation for the Development Summit, chaired by Lebanon, and comprising the Development Summit Troika (Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and Iraq), the Economic and Social Council Troika (United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Tunisia), as well as Egypt, Morocco, and the General Secretariat of the League.
The proceedings of the Economic and Social Council at the senior officials' level, preparatory to the Fifth Arab Development Summit, followed thereafter.
During this meeting, Iraq assumed the presidency from Lebanon, with the participation of Arab delegations, including Kuwait, which was represented by Acting Assistant Undersecretary for Economic Affairs at the Ministry of Finance, Talal Al-Namash.
The meeting's agenda included discussion of items proposed to be submitted to the Economic and Social Council in preparation for the summit, totaling 27 items. The items also included discussion of the initiative by the Secretary-General of the Arab League titled "The Arab Artificial Intelligence Initiative: Towards Technological Leadership and Sustainable Development," and the initiative by the President of Mauritania on the blue economy to address the food and energy crisis.
The meeting is also discussing an item related to the report of the Secretary-General of the Arab League on joint Arab economic, social, and developmental work, as well as a report on the follow-up to the implementation of the resolutions of the Fourth Arab Economic and Social Development Summit held in Beirut in 2019.
The meeting additionally addresses the Arab Strategy for Food Security 2025-2035, developments regarding the Greater Arab Free Trade Area, the completion of requirements for establishing the Arab Customs Union, and other agenda items.
The outcomes of today's meeting are scheduled to be submitted to the preparatory meeting of Arab ministers of trade and economy tomorrow, Tuesday, which in turn will approve draft resolutions to be presented to Arab leaders on the day of the summit.
Preparatory meetings will continue on Wednesday with the meeting of permanent representatives and senior officials, followed by the meeting of Arab foreign ministers on Thursday, all in preparation for the summit day on May 17. (end) ahh.onm