Committee of Arab Economic and Social Council – headed by Hussain bin Shuwaish al-Shuwaish, Director-General of the Arab and Islamic Economic Relations Department at the Saudi Ministry of Finance – commenced its activities on Monday with the participation of senior officials in finance and economy ministers in Arab states.

The two-day committee discusses the economic file of the Arab Economic and Social Council 100th ministerial session, including 15 terms. Shuwaish affirmed during the inaugural session that the agenda is full of significant topics in the joint Arab work, majorly preparations for the economic-social file of the upcoming Arab Summit in March, Riyadh.

“This summit comes in exceptional economic conditions the world is experiencing, especially the Arab one. This requires exerting additional efforts to come up with historic decisions in the summit to reinforce joint Arabic work,” Shuwaish said.

He added that the Arab free trade zone is the backbone of joint Arab economic work since “through it the structural Arab trade flourishes, Arab investments increase and economic relations among member states boost.”

Shuwaish stated that the agenda consists of several topics of interest, especially the Arab customs union developments. Assistant Secretary General of the Arab League Ambassador Kamal Hussein Ali said that the economic terms discussed emphasize importance of Arab economic integration, given that the Arab free trade zone is a priority.

Assistant Secretary General urged enhancement of investment climate and competitiveness in Arab states – he also called for focusing more on food security, knowing that this topic is listed on the agenda.