The Ambassador of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the Arab Republic of Egypt and Permanent Representative to the Arab League, Hisham bin Mohammed Al-Jowder, headed the delegation of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the meeting of the Economic and Social Council at the ministerial level in its regular session (108), held today, at the headquarters of the General Secretariat of the Arab League in Cairo.
During the meeting, the Council approved a set of recommendations and decisions related to economic and social issues, including the follow-up to the implementation of the decisions of the 107th session, in addition to taking note of the economic and social files submitted to the League at the summit level in its 31st session, including a number of issues of development importance.
The most important of which these are the Progress made in implementing the Greater Arab Free Trade Area, the Arab Customs Union, the Arab Strategy for the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy, the Arab Program for Food Security sustainability and the Arab Sustainable Agricultural Development Strategy.
The space programme initiative of the United Arab Emirates and the report on the progress of the Arab Group for Space Cooperation and the Arab Satellite Project (813), and its initiative on the Arab vision of the digital economy were also approved.
The Council also approved the focus of the session’s work on the Greater Arab Free Trade Area, the progress in implementing its multiple axes, and its most recent executive and technical meetings, in addition to the Aid for Trade Initiative for Arab States (AfTIAS).
The Council praised the support provided by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria, the Islamic Development Bank, the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation and the Trade Development Fund Corporation to launch the second phase of the programme.
Thanks were also extended to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan for presenting its experience regarding the National Trade Window, and its proposal to establish a council of Arab ministers responsible for education affairs.
The council discussed investment in Arab countries, and Libya’s hosting of the 19th session of the Conference of Arab Businessmen and Investors scheduled to be held on 7 -8 of November 2021 in Tripoli.
The Ministerial Council decided to support the request of the United Arab Emirates to host the 28th session of the Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) in Abu Dhabi in 2023 and welcomed the Arab Republic of Egypt hosting of the activities of the 27th session of the conference scheduled to be held in 2022.
A number of important periodic topics on regional and international cooperation were reviewed, including the progress made in completing the Unified Arab Economic Report 2021 because of its importance to decision-makers and researchers in the Arab world, and provision of the necessary support to the Palestinian economy to overcome its financial crisis caused by the arbitrary Israeli measures and the Corona pandemic.
Also discussed were the common Arab address towards the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank for the year 2021, in addition to the latest developments and issues related to the joint Arab organizations and institutions that enhance the outcomes of Arab cooperation.
The Council also reviewed the latest developments in Arab-international cooperation and stressed the continuation of procedures to prepare for holding the third session of the Arab Chinese Cooperation Forum in the field of health, the ninth session of the Arab Chinese Relations and Dialogue between Arab and Chinese Civilizations in September 2021, and the Conference of Arab University Presidents to be held in India in 2021.
The Council welcomed what has been done to support and enhance the outcomes of Arab action in terms of the Sustainable Development Goals 2030, and the issuance of the report “Strengthening Sustainable Finance and Climate Finance in the Arab Region,” which was prepared in partnership with a number of specialized bodies of the United Nations.
It also welcomed the establishment of the Regional Center for Sustainable Finance in the Arab Republic of Egypt As one of the sustainable financing mechanisms in the Arab and African region in order to achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals in the Arab region.
The delegation of the Kingdom of Bahrain participating in the meetings included Abdullah Abdul Hamid Al-Aradi, Head of the Arab Countries Relations Department at the Ministry of Finance and National Economy.
Source: Bahrain News Agency