Faisal, Minister of Foreign Affairs, attends the opening session of the Arab League 2nd Economic Forum in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh, Wednesday. (Reuters) SHARM EL-SHEIKH: The chief of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, Wednesday told the region's leaders that the recent upheaval in Tunisia is linked to deteriorating economic conditions throughout the Arab world, warning them that their people's anger has reached unprecedented heights. He said that “the Arab soul is broken by poverty, unemployment and general recession.” “This is in the mind of all of us,” Moussa said in his opening address to the 20 Arab leaders and other representatives of Arab League members gathered in Sharm El-Sheikh. “The Tunisian revolution is not far from us,” Moussa warned. “The Arab citizens entered an unprecedented state of anger and frustration.” Billion-dollar fund Mindful of those events, Arab leaders at the summit committed to a proposed $2 billion program to boost faltering economies that have propelled crowds into the streets to protest against high unemployment, rising prices and rampant corruption. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have promised to pay $500m each and, after the economic-related unrest in Tunisia, additional pledges are pouring in. Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Kuwaiti ruler, said the fund will “contribute to creating new job opportunities for young Arabs” at a time when the Arab world is witnessing “unprecedented historical crisis”. The final statement issued at the end of the summit identified the challenges facing the Arab world and its people in the coming years. “We Arab leaders are renewing our commitment to the developmental strategies adopted at the Kuwait summit 2009 and affirm our determination to move forward in the development of Arab societies technologically, economically and socially, and develop structures of joint action within the framework of the Arab League to ensure a better future for our peoples and future generations.” Resource scarcity and security came in for special mention with rising food prices, a potential source of instability around the world. “We can assure that food security and Arab water security is a priority for Arab action in the coming years, especially that climate change will affect water resources and increase scarcity of those resources so we will work to implement the Arab water security strategy in the Arab region,” the final statement said. The summit presented joint Arab action priorities for the next phase to solidify trade and communication links between the member states. “Also, working toward Arab Free Trade area and move toward a Customs Union and adopted policies aimed at enhancing the joint Arab investments and enable the private sector and civil society to contribute effectively to the overall development process,” said the statement. The leaders also reviewed the completion of the Common Arab Customs Law and the ongoing work on unification of customs tariff scheduled ahead of 2012, in preparation for the final declaration on the Arab Customs Union by 2015, and the Arab Common Market by 2020. The summit also agreed on “the Arab strategy to reduce Disaster Risk 2020” to face “increasing risks due to environmental degradation, and disasters frequently occurring as a result of geological changes and global warming and its direct impact on lives, infrastructure, livelihoods and sustainable development.” Delegates concluded by announcing that the next summit will be held in Saudi Arabia in 2013.
