Kuwait takes part in Arab Economic, Social Council meeting

CAIRO: Kuwait is taking part in the meeting of senior officials of the Arab Economic and Social Council (ESC), which commenced on Wednesday and was chaired by Jordan. Arab League Assistant Secretary General and Head of the Social Affairs Sector, Dr. Haifa Abu Ghazaleh, called during the meeting for a plan to respond to the negative economic and social repercussions of Zionist aggression on the Gaza Strip. She underscored the efforts of Arab ministers of health and social affairs to provide urgent humanitarian aid to Gazans in collaboration with the Egyptian Red Crescent.

Pointing to the escalating number of casualties, including indiscriminate harm to children, women, the elderly, and people with disabilities, Abu Ghazaleh described the Gaza crisis as an unprecedented tragedy in history. She also underlined Somalia’s struggles with floods, which worsen already challenging humanitarian, economic, and developmental conditions. A proposal will be presented to the ESC to aid Somalia in overcoming these difficulties.

She emphasized the significance of this session as it prepares the economic and social development agenda for the upcoming Arab Summit in Bahrain, involving vital initiatives by member states, ministerial councils, and Arab organizations targeting the improvement of Arab citizens’ lives and advancing Arab efforts towards implementing the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. Kuwait is participating in the 113th meeting with a delegation from the ministries of finance, foreign affairs, and commerce, headed by Acting Assistant Undersecretary for Economic Affairs at the Ministry of Finance, Talal Al-Namesh.

The Arab Economic and Social Council’s 113th meeting kicked off at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo. The meeting’s agenda discussed various topics, including the report of the Arab League’s secretary-general and the follow-up to the 112th meeting’s decisions between the 112-113 sessions. The meeting will also address the economic and social cases at the Arab League’s summit in its 33rd regular session, scheduled in Bahrain for May 2024, in addition to Arab and international cooperation in social and development fields.

The council will also discuss reports and decisions of ministerial councils and committees, including the Arab Youth and Sports Ministerial Council’s extraordinary session, held in September 2023, as well as the Arab Social Affairs Ministerial Council’s 8th extraordinary session, held in Tunis in October 2023. It will also look into the Arab Ministers of Health extraordinary session in November, the Arab Population and Development Council’s 5th regular session in November, and the 43rd regular session of the Arab Ministers of Social Affairs Council in December.