Kuwait chairs Arab meeting to discuss Free Trade Zone

CAIRO, Dec 10 (KUNA) -- The 56th meeting of the Arab League's Implementation and Follow-up Committee of the Economic and Social Council kicked off on Sunday chaired by Kuwait to discuss the final steps of creating the Greater Arab Free Trade Zone.

Acting Undersecretary of the Economic Affairs of the Ministry of Finance Talal Al-Nemash told KUNA that the committee holds meetings regularly to discuss the trade zone developments.
He said that the meeting's agenda includes eight main items, the most important of which is follow-up, which discusses the mechanisms for implementing the decisions of the summits and the Economic and Social Council resolutions related to the zone.
The meeting also discusses the Saudi Arabia's proposal to establish a platform for Arab trade to facilitate communication between the region's focal points to address any obstacles that Arab trade may face among member states.
Al-Nemash considered the Greater Arab Free Trade Zone "the modern component" of an Arab trade system, which is the basis for trade negotiations and a reference for periodic economic summits and the Economic and Social Council.
The meeting took place in Cairo, with the participation of representatives of the ministries of finance and trade in the Arab countries concerned with the Greater Arab Free Trade Zone, the Director of the Economic Integration Department of the Arab League, Minister Plenipotentiary Dr. Bahjat Abu Al-Nasr, and a representative of the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development. (end) mfm.asm.bb.