RIYADH – Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah urged Arab states to stand united so as to overcome challenges facing the Arab economy as well as to strive to further strengthen joint Arab work. In his speech, read out on his behalf by Crown Prince Salman Bin Abdul Aziz, Deputy Premier and Minister of Defense, at the opening session of the 3rd Arab Economic and Social Development Summit here Monday evening, King Abdullah said that developmental issues of Arab states have become tougher and complicated because of several major problems such as poverty, unemployment and diseases. It requires exerting all efforts and spending in the best possible manner to confront and address these problems, the King said, stressing the need for strengthening joint Arab work and implementing inter-Arab projects. King Abdullah called for increasing capitals of Arab financial organizations and Arab joint venture companies by 50 percent in order to finance Arab development projects and expand their activities. The King announced Saudi Arabia's willingness to contribute its share for this increase provided there is an agreement in this respect. King Abdullah also emphasized the need for exerting all efforts to remove hurdles that impede the functioning of the Arab private sector and create appropriate environment to encourage flow of investments in member countries. In this regard, the King urged to approve the unified agreement for the Arab capital investment, the draft of which was presented to the summit. The King called upon the Arab leaders to complete the requirements for establishing the Great Arab Free Trade Zone before the end of this year. He also welcomed the initiative to support inter-Arab trade launched by the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation to enhance trade exchange among the Arab states. The opening session of the two-day summit began at King Abdulaziz International Conference Center with the speech of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi in his capacity as the president of the second Economic Summit. While stressing the significance of formulating guidelines and economic policies to realize the goals and aspirations of the Arab states, he called for accelerating efforts to establish common Arab market. Morsi noted that the summit is being held at a time when the Arab Ummah is passing through a crucial phase. He specially noted the great changes that took place in Egypt after the January 25 Revolution. “Egypt looks forward to cooperate with other Arab states to confront the common challenges and take advantage of the available opportunities to realize their aspirations toward economic integration,” he said. Earlier on arrival at the venue, leaders and heads of delegations were received by Crown Prince Salman. They included Sudanese President Omar Bashir, President of Tunisia Moncef Marzouki, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Jordan's King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein, Qatar's Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain, Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, Mauritania President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, President of Comoros Ikililou Dhoinine, Djiboutian President Ismail Omar Guelleh, and Libyan First Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Al-Siddiq Abdulkarim Abdulrahman Karim. Iraq sent its Vice President Khudair Bin Mousa Al-Khuzai to attend the summit while Oman's Sultan Qaboos Bin Said was represented by his adviser Shihab Bin Tareq Al-Said. — SG/SPA
