Al-Ahram Weekly | Economy

		Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 1 - 7 February 2001 Issue No.519
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875		Current issue \| Previous issue \| Site map

Jordan in the loop
THIS WEEK, the Amman government joined the agreement to establish a natural gas pipeline to transport gas from Egypt to Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, from where gas will later be exported to Turkey and Europe. The event was attended by Atef Ebeid, Ali Abul-Ragheb and Mustafa Miro, the prime ministers of Egypt, Jordan and Syria respectively.
According to the agreement, two major companies will be established to carry out the project. Eastern Gas will lay gas pipelines with an investment estimated at $800 million, while the Arab Company for Gas, to be established with a capital of $200 million, will undertake distribution within each of the importing countries. "This is a pioneering project which consolidates cooperation among Arab countries in the field of energy," said Sameh Fahmi, Egypt's minister of petroleum. He stressed that for the gas and oil industries, this agreement is considered a key part of the Arab Common Market.
The four governments have pledged full support for the project, which is expected to be operational in 18 months time.
The agreement stipulates that the entry of any other country into the arrangement is conditional on the unanimous agreement of the four signatories. A supreme committee, formed of the concerned ministers, will supervise and coordinate implementation of the project.
Jordan announced that it estimates its annual requirements of natural gas at three billion cubic metres until the year 2005. By the end of that period, it predicts that its needs will increase as it carries out the development projects planned for the Aqaba industrial zone.
Towards free Arab trade
THE FUTURE of the Free Arab Trade Area was the theme of a seminar held recently by the Alexandria Business Association (ABA), attended by Eman Youssef.
Ahmed Guwieli, secretary-general of the Council for Arab Economic Unity -- and guest of honour at the seminar -- asserted the importance of establishing economic cooperation between Arab countries, given the challenges of the international economy and globalisation. A number of prominent businessmen from various economic sectors, including agriculture, industry, textiles and pharmaceuticals, participated in the seminar.
Mohamed Ragab, chairman of ABA, said that although much of the infrastructure that supports economic unity among Arab countries is already in place, many projects have failed. To establish such a free trade area requires that taxation and customs procedures be unified among participating countries, but, in doing this, a flexible approach to the unification of economic legislation should be taken.
To get the unification process rolling, Ragab suggested that mergers among companies based in different Arab countries be effected. "One country by itself might not be able to afford the cost of technological research, for example, so there must be a trend towards establishing joint technological projects in the Arab region."
Concerning obstacles to Arab economic unity, Ragab told Al-Ahram Weekly, "Some bilateral and international trade agreements contradict the objectives of economic unity, such as the partnership agreements between Morocco and Tunisia and the European Union." Another barrier exists in the wariness of some businessmen concerning how such an area would function, but this, said Ragab, could be overcome by clarifying the nature and goals of the arrangement.
The need to improve transportation infrastructure, particularly to reduce the cost of maritime transport, was also underlined by seminar participants.
Commerce votes
THE NEW board of directors of the Cairo Chamber of Commerce (CCC) is expected to take office within a few days. During the CCC elections, held 21 January, more than 2,000 members cast their votes to choose 10 board members.
Earlier this week, Hassan Khedr, minister of supply and internal trade, announced the names of the 10 appointees to the board. Together, these two groups will form the new board comprising 20 members.
Although Khedr asserted the integrity of election procedures in an official announcement, some CCC members expressed concern about the fact that there may have been irregularities.
Abdel-Alim Nawara, a former CCC chairman, suggested that elections should be overseen by the judiciary. "We asked that judges supervise the elections, but our request was refused and they were held under the ministry's supervision."
Nawara advocated that in the future more polling stations should be established and that the period for casting votes be extended beyond a single day to facilitate participation by the CCC's 55,000 members. Nawara added that already petitions have been filed by CCC members asserting irregularities in the conduct of these elections.
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