TUNIS: The 116th regular session of the Arab Economic and Social Council (AESC) convened Wednesday at the ministerial level to review mechanisms for enhancing joint Arab action and advancing regional economic integration. Tunisian Minister of Trade and Export Development Samir Obeid, whose country chairs the current session, said the prevailing regional and international circumstances require intensified Arab cooperation to achieve comprehensive and sustainable development. He underlined that such efforts are vital to confronting the grave challenges facing the region, particularly the “genocide, starvation and displacement” endured by the Palestinian people.
In his opening remarks, Obeid urged the international community to assume its legal and moral responsibilities in halting crimes against Palestinians and ensuring their protection. He noted that the Arab world, endowed with strategic geography, abundant resources and human capital, is capable of achieving prosperity if resources are efficiently harnessed and cooperation grounded in common interests is strengthened.
Obeid pointed to fragile development conditions, high poverty and unemployment rates, compounded by international crises and regional conflicts, as major obstacles to Arab progress. He stressed that the Tunis Initiative, adopted at the recent Arab Development Summit in Baghdad, provides a renewed framework for Arab integration and sustainable recovery. Turning visions into practical programs, he said, is essential, particularly in food security, water scarcity, climate change, employment and regional infrastructure development.
He further emphasized bolstering the Greater Arab Free Trade Area to expand partnerships and lower trade costs, while investing in human capital, entrepreneurship and innovation as drivers of Arab economic growth. For his part, Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit stressed the need to reinforce the resilience of the Palestinian people and their institutions in the face of Zionist attempts to undermine the Palestinian state project. He said the Arab world possesses “not small” economic potential, which must be mobilized to support the Palestinian cause.
Secretary-General of the League of Arab States Ahmed Aboul Gheit
Assistant Undersecretary for Technical Services Affairs at the Ministry of Finance, Saad Al-Alati
Aboul Gheit warned that Palestinians in Gaza are subjected to “brutality and dehumanization,” including the weaponization of starvation aimed at forcing them from their land and undermining the two-state solution in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem. He noted that the session’s agenda covers initiatives to establish new ministerial councils, enhance the performance of specialized Arab organizations, and promote dialogue, peace and tolerance—values he said must be instilled in educational curricula, media and cultural discourse.
The Secretary-General also highlighted obstacles to achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals amid ongoing humanitarian crises and armed conflicts in several Arab states. He called for safe conditions for reconstruction, the exchange of successful Arab experiences, and implementation of the more than 30 decisions issued at the Fifth Arab Economic and Social Development Summit hosted by Baghdad last May.
Ministers of economy and finance are set to examine key proposals, including the establishment of the Arab Medicines Agency, the Arab Council for Customs Affairs, a ministerial council on trade, and a ministerial council on artificial intelligence. They will also discuss creating an Arab Center for Artificial Intelligence, an Arab reconstruction fund for Yemen, and a network on the social and solidarity economy, proposed by Morocco.
Other agenda items include developments in the Arab Customs Union, the Greater Arab Free Trade Area, investment promotion, and mechanisms for introducing new topics under “Any Other Business,” requested by Bahrain. Kuwait is participating in the ministerial meeting with a delegation led by Undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance for Technical Services Affairs Saad Al-Alaati, representing Minister of Finance and Acting Minister of State for Economic Affairs and Investment Dr Sabeeh Al-Mukhaizeem. The delegation also includes representatives from the Ministries of Finance and Foreign Affairs. — KUNA
