Tolerance

“Experience has shown that the distance between extremist thought and violence is shorter than we think, and to confront it we must have an open culture and modern education that promotes the values of tolerance and citizenship, which cuts off the way for the spread of violence and dries out the sources of terrorism,” Abul Gheit added.

The Arab League chief called for a “comprehensive Arab” confrontation, based on joint strategies and continuous coordination between states and governments, not only on the security and military level, but also in the fields of education, information and social work.

In this regard, Abul-Gheit stressed the need for Arab countries to adopt a “new development model” that meets the expectations of young people to reach an economic system that will generate wealth and stimulate innovation.

Regarding economic integration, Abul-Gheit pointed out that, despite all achievements on the path of regional integration and economic integration, the result is “still much less than we hoped for,” noting that Arab trades do not exceed an estimates of 8 to 10 percent of the total Arab trade with the world.

Abul-Gheit also mentioned the Arab League’s keenness to keep up with the international standards regarding the field of development, and at its forefront the 17 goals of the United Nations Sustainable Development Agenda 2030 and its subgoals.

For his part, the Chairman of the session, Jordan’s Minister of Industry and Trade Yarab Al-Qadat said in his speech that due to current conditions the Arab region have cast a negative shadow on the efforts and gains of development in the Arab countries.

In terms of growth rates, Al-Qadat noted that estimates put out by the World Bank in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region showed a decline of 7.2 percent in 2016 due to various consequences and factors that had negatively impacted on economies of these countries in the last few years, including the significant decline in oil prices, wars, and conflicts in the region.