MP says hurdles in Greater Arab Free Trade Area need to clear
Calls for beefing up joint Arab action
It is imperative to eliminate all obstacles that could encumber business in the ‘Greater Arab Free Trade Area’ (GAFTA), a Kuwaiti MP said yesterday. MP Khaled AlOtaibi, a member of the Arab Parliament’s Economic and Financial Committee, said that decisions made during previous Arab development summits have yet to come to fruition, which represents a shortcoming. He pointed out that structural flaws in Arab production has stalled trade development, adding that the just-concluded meeting of the committee yielded its agenda for the upcoming term.
Otaibi also added that the meeting tackled various issues to be referred to the Arab Parliament’s forthcoming session today. The Arab Parliament has formed various ad hoc committees dealing with foreign, political, economic and legal affairs, in addition to other issues.
Arab aspirations
On Monday, Otaibi affirmed the necessity of unifying Arab visions to remove obstacles in order to meet aspirations of Arab nations. Speaking on the sidelines of the Arab Parliament’s financial and economic committee meeting, Otaibi said there are some economic, legal and legislative obstacles that should be removed.
Such topics were discussed by the conferees during the meeting, he added. The meeting touched upon the proposals of the Arab investment projects as well as reviewed a report on the latest developments pertaining to GAFTA and ways to accelerate the implementation of its executive program, he noted.
Joint action
Meanwhile, Kuwaiti MP and Arab Parliament member Ali Al-Deqbasi called for stepping up Arab joint action to counter challenges and threats to Arab security. In a statement on the sidelines of a meeting of the Arab Parliament’s Foreign Affairs, Political and National Security Committee, Deqbasi noted that the committee has discussed boosting Arab cooperation to live up to Arab people’s expectations and to overcome the impending threats to the region as well as to fight poverty, hungry and diseases. He pointed out that the members have also tackled efforts to close Arab ranks and to iron out differences.
Deqbasi voiced concerns about the current situation in the Arab region, stressing the need for doubling efforts to ease tension and unite Arab countries. In the meantime, he also lauded Kuwait activism and cooperation with the international parliamentarian organizations to stand up to the Israeli violations of international law and illegal practices against Palestinian people and territories. —KUNA