Issue No. 604
Economy
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19 - 25 September 2002 Issue No. 604 Economy |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Recommend this page | ||
Rapid prescription needed
Amid a myriad of Arab high-level talk shops dealing with economic conditions in the region, Arab economies still await a feasible formula for recovery. Dina Ezzat reports
The consequences of the 11 September attacks on Arab economies are by no means insignificant. The US, several EU countries and Japan have placed hundreds of Arab companies and businessmen on black lists. The global economic recession in the first few months after the attacks brought oil, tourism and trade revenues down. Faltering international stock markets have left Arab entrepreneurs reeling. Meanwhile, regional political conflicts have kept military budgets in most Arab countries high.
The state of Arab economies in the wake of the 11 September events was on the agenda of discussion at the Arab League Economic and Social Council meetings in Cairo from 9 to 12 September, but none of the sessions were devoted to finding ways to remedy the situation.
"True, the item itself was not discussed as such, but the council's discussions did, in fact, revolve around the issue of improving economic performance in the Arab world," commented one Arab League source. "The impact of 11 September on Arab economies was also very much present in the minds of participants. The inaugural session's opening remarks referred to this issue."
The council's agenda was predictable. It included a review of efforts exerted towards the implementation of the Arab Free Trade Area and an Arab Customs Union, the liberalisation of Arab services and the standardisation of the Arab roots of origin. It also included a review of reports related to the performance of Arab economies during 2002, Arab investments in 2001 and various reports related to different aspects of Arab trade.
The results of the three-day meetings were not particularly impressive. No major progress was reported on any of the key economic projects and no major resolutions were adopted.
According to one participant, the best piece of news he heard during the meetings was the implementation of the 50 per cent tariff cut required for the establishment of the Arab Free Trade Area. "Also, both Sudan and Palestine decided to join the Arab Free Trade Area, which means that about two-thirds of the 22 members of the Arab League are now in. However, the bad news is that we have under three years to go before the area is fully established in 2005," one participant said.
The Arab League maintains it is serious about promoting all forms of economic and trade cooperation among its member states. Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa is presenting the Arab states with a plan to overhaul the Economic and Social Council that aims to upgrade state participation to prime ministerial level. "The objective is to secure that decision-making is taken at a very high level, which means the chances of implementation will be much higher," Moussa said.
The first Arab Economic Conference, planned for this year, was postponed due to the recession caused by the events of 11 September. "We thought it would not be profitable if we went ahead with this project," said one Arab League source, adding that the conference could take place in the spring of 2003.
But for this conference to succeed, much work needs to be done in specifying areas for development.
The Union of Arab Chambers of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture met in Sharm El-Sheikh last week to examine means of attracting investments to the Arab world. "What we are trying to do is give momentum to the Arab summit economic resolutions [which were examined in the Economic and Social Council meetings] to create a more investment- friendly environment," said Khaled Abu Ismail, the union's chairman. The issue will be further discussed next month in Amman at the union's annual conference.
Meanwhile, a third meeting took place in Cairo last week to define investment opportunities in the Arab world. "Our objective is to secure the return of some of the huge Arab investments overseas," said Ahmed El-Goweili, secretary-general of the Arab Unity Council, the gathering's sponsor. Once this money is back, El-Goweili said, Arab economies will be on their way to revival.
While there is no dearth of past and future meetings discussing the state of Arab economies, concrete results have yet to be felt by the Arab people, who suffer exceptionally high levels of unemployment and poor standards of living.
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