Easier said

Arab plans for economic cooperation are ambitious. But, as Dina Ezzat reports, the political will for implementation is something else

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On Sunday Arab finance and economy ministers will meet to formulate what is being dubbed a mega-strategy for collective Arab economic cooperation. The strategy is based on the much elusive aspiration of Arab peoples, and at times of their governments, to establish comprehensive economic cooperation.

The strategy by the Arab officials at their two- day meeting of the Arab League-associated Economic and Social Council is indeed ambitious. It covers 15 years of economic cooperation and heralds a customs union to be established by the year 2015 and ultimately a common Arab market by 2020.

Towards these objectives, the proposed strategy offers a vision of a major shift in facilitating transportation of goods and free movement of individuals across the Arab world.

The blueprint to be reviewed next week was initially drafted over a decade ago. Since then it has expanded to cover a detailed agenda of all forms of economic, and for that matter social, cooperation. The volume is big and covers every obvious item, from exchange of investments, regulation of the roots of origin and the establishment of an Arab investments bank, to the improvement of the quality of education and the empowerment of women.

The strategy aspires to establish not just the mechanisms for cooperation but its spirit, too. Essential is the concept of getting the more economically advanced Arab states to extend direct and indirect economic assistance to the least developed of Arab countries, either by producing immediate financial aid or by establishing adequate tax exemption formulas.

The ultimate goal, according to the departments of economic and social cooperation of the Arab League, is to combat poverty across the Arab world, elevate the level of human development and enhance still humble inter-Arab trade and investment.

Governments are not the only partners working for the establishment of this strategy, affirms Kamal Senada, director of the Trade and Development Department at the Arab League. Senada said the private sector and civil society also had a crucial role to play. The enhancement of the role of the private sector and civil society, affirmed Senada, is something that will be discussed with due attention at the Economic Social Council ministerial meeting on Sunday.

Ambitious as this plan is, it may not be the most realistic blueprint for economic Arab cooperation especially at this particular state of limited Arab political coordination. "This plan is the brainchild of dedicated and aspiring experts," commented one Arab diplomat. "It is something that many Arabs would aspire to but it is not something that many Arabs will find easy to implement."

According to several other Arab officials, the political will required to achieve such an ambitious plan is lacking. Arab officials shrug off all references made to the European example and insist that what made mega-economic cooperation possible for the Europeans is the keenness of their governments to provide the best in economic and social interests for their people. This, they argue, may not be a responsibility that every Arab government is particularly concerned with.

Moreover, inter-Arab political disputes have often proved to be a serious hindrance to profound economic cooperation. "How would you expect countries that have serious security concerns to agree to extend railways or to allow free movement of individuals?" asked one senior Cairo-based Arab diplomat.

Initially, economic and social cooperation, which were one of the main objectives of pan- Arabism, has failed to materialise as a serious project for dedicated Arab efforts.

The sub-regional Arab groupings of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), encompassing the six Arab Gulf states, and the Maghreb Union which comprises all northern Africa Arab states with the exception of Egypt, have been more fortunate with promoting economic, and to an extent social, cooperation on the basis of socio- economic compatibility. Still, as diplomats from both groupings admit, the process of cooperation is stumbling in the Gulf and North Africa over political and security disputes. The GCC has recently been taken hostage by the power struggle between Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The Maghreb Union has been almost paralysed by the dispute between Morocco and Algeria over the fate of Western Sahara. Rabat claims to be part of Moroccan territory while Algeria insists it should be granted independence according to the wishes of the vast majority of the population of the Western Sahara.

Major economic disparities have also proven to be a serious handicap to the well-being of economic cooperation and to an extent social cooperation.

The oil boom of the 1970s drew a clear line between the rich Gulf Arab states, which are among the world's top oil and natural gas exporters, and the lesser economically privileged Arab states. For decades, the disadvantaged and less developed states have been mainly subject to the economic aid, rather than cooperation, of the wealthier Arab states.

There has been a recent attempt to change this trend to a more economically constructive form of cooperation. Last year, when the Arab Free Trade Area went into effect, hopes were high that cooperation among Arab states would shift to the fast lane. This has not proven to be the case. Standing still as well has been social cooperation.

During their meetings early next week, the Arab ministers will review the level of progress achieved on all fronts of cooperation. Some progress is expected to be made on the economic front especially because of the keenness to promote and expand electricity grids and gas pipelines. Other than that there will be very little progress apart from providing economic assistance to the least developed countries, gradual cooperation on property rights and the elimination of negative lists among the Arab countries operating under the umbrella of the Arab Free Trade Area which has so far been joined by 17 out of the 22 Arab League member states.

In press statements this week, Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa admitted that Arab economic and social cooperation plans have often proved bigger than the ability to be implemented. But this, he argues, is not a reason to give up.