Egypt: The Minister of Trade and Industry, Ahmed Samir, heads the Egyptian delegation to the 111th sitting of the Economic and Social Council of the United Arab States at the ministerial level. He participates in the Troika meeting to prepare for the Arab Summit on Economic and Social Development to be held in Mauritania this year.

The reports have stated that the coordination and integration between Arab countries to face current global economic and social challenges highlighted the topics proposed during the 111th session of the Economic and Social Council. 

As per the updates, the meeting was organized at the head office of the General Secretariat of the University in Cairo, in the presence of a number of Arab Ministers of Economy, Trade and Finance, as well as Ambassador Haifa Abu Ghazala, Assistant General Secretary of the University. Al Arabia for Social Affairs, and Ambassador Ali bin Ibrahim Al-Maliki, Assistant General Secretary of the Arab University for Economic Affairs.

“The opening session of the course’s work witnessed the handover of the presidency of the Social Council and Economic to the University of Arab States from the Kingdom of Morocco to the Mauritanian Islamic Republic,” said reports. 

On his part, the minister said that the meetings of the current session of the Council are aimed at achieving greater cooperation, coordination and integration in all areas of Arab joint work to address current global economic and social challenges through further Arab approaches and facilitating understanding on issues and topics of common interest.

“The most important economic and social items presented on the work of the 111th session of the Council included the report of the Secretary-General on following the implementation of the economic aspects of the 110th session of the Board and the activity of the General Secretariat between the two 110-111 sessions of the Council,” reported officials. 

 Furthermore, the items included the economic and social file of the Council of the University of Arab States at the level of the 32nd Summit of the University, which will be held This year in Saudi Arabia, and so are the preparations for the fifth sitting of the Arab Summit for Economic and Social Development which will be held in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania in November 2023.

Reports have claimed that the items also included the Great Arab Free Trade Area, developments of the Arab Customs Union, trade facilitation, customs support and opening markets with the outside world. 

Moreover, in addition to the review of the 2023 Arab Unified Economic Report, investment in Arab countries, the draft of the Arab Coordination Mechanism for Disaster Reduction, and food security challenges caused by the Russian crisis Ukrainian, topics related to organizations and institutions of joint Arab work, and reports of ministerial councils and committees.

On the other hand, Ahmed Samir, the Minister of Trade and Industry, with a number of ministers of Arab countries representing the Troika of the Economic and Social Council currently comprising (Egypt, Morocco, and Mauritania), in addition to the Troika of the Social and Economic Development Summit, which currently includes (Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Mauritania) alongside the Secretary General of the Arab States and a State Representative Tunisia. 

Notably, the activities of the ministerial meeting to follow up the implementation of the decisions of the fourth session of the Arab Summit for Economic and Social Development, held in the Republic of Lebanon in 2019, as well as the preparation for the summit for its fifth session, scheduled to be held in the Mauritanian Republic in 2023. 

In the economic, social and sustainable development spheres, in the presence of Dr Amani Al-Wesal, President of The conventions and foreign trade sector, where the draft resolutions discussed during the previous meeting of senior officials were approved with the participation of the conventions and foreign Trade sector (the official Egyptian point of contact in the Economic and Social Council), and it’s most important.