Arab leaders emphasize Gaza reconstruction, condemn Israeli assault

Special report:
Palestine-IsraelConflicts

Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad
al-Jaber al-Sabah speaks at the closing session of the Arab Economic,
Social and Development Summit in Kuwait City, Kuwait, Jan. 20, 2009. The
First Arab Economic Summit concluded here Tuesday afternoon, with leaders
announcing resolutions on ending the Gaza crisis and steps to promote Arab
economic and social development. (Xinhua/KUNA)
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Gallery

KUWAIT CITY, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Arab leaders concluded their first economic summit here Tuesday with an
adoption of resolutions highlighting the importance of reconstruction efforts
in the war-battered Gaza Strip and condemning anew the Israeli aggression on the
Palestinian territory.

The Arab leaders agreed to rebuild Gaza through a rehabilitation and construction program in coordination with the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), said the resolutions announced by Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa at the end of the two-day summit meeting.

According to the resolutions, the Arab leaders called for continuing humanitarian assistance to Gazans suffering from three weeks of massive Israeli offensive, providing financial and technical support for the rehabilitation of infrastructure, health services, and improving Palestinians' living standards in the strip.

The leaders attending the summit were expected to map out practical steps to stabilize the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and devote aid to the reconstruction of the besieged coastal enclave.

But the final resolutions stopped short of mentioning a highly-expected Arab fund worth 2 billion U.S. dollars for the post-war reconstruction process of the Palestinian enclave.

Meanwhile, Moussa said Arab foreign ministers held a closed-door meeting and studied the dangerous situation resulted from the Israeli aggression on Gaza, which has killed more than 1,300 Palestinians.

The top diplomats condemned the Israeli atrocious assault, demanded an immediate halt of the military operations and swift withdrawal of the Israeli forces from Gaza, he added.

The two-day summit had been designed to be a chance for Arab leaders to sidestep political divisions and focus on economic matters.

Due to the Israeli military offensive on the besieged Palestinian enclave that began on Dec. 27, the Gaza situation had dominated the economic meeting, attended by 17 Arab heads of state and the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad
al-Jaber al-Sabah (L, front) attends the closing session of the Arab
Economic, Social and Development Summit in Kuwait City, Kuwait, Jan. 20,
2009. The first Arab economic summit concluded on Jan. 20, 2009.
(Xinhua/KUNA)
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Official: Kuwait summit serious step towards establishing Arab economic bloc

KUWAIT CITY, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- The General Union of
Chambers of Commerce, Industry, and Agriculture for Arab Countries said here
Saturday that the first Arab economic summit slated to be held on Jan. 19-20
will be a serious step to boost efforts to establish an Arab economic bloc.

Adnan Al-Qassar, Chairman of the union, made the
remarks in a speech at the inauguration of the "Private Sector and Civil Society
Forum" held ahead of the Arab economic summit.

Al-Qassar told the forum that achieving the economic goals of Arab countries required a thorough Arab vision that put in mind the collective needs of all countries.

Kuwait's Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser al-Mohammad al-Ahmad al-Sabah addresses the opening ceremony of a forum on Arab private sector and civil society in Kuwait City, Kuwait, Jan. 17, 2009. (Xinhua Photo)
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The upcoming Arab economic summit, which would focus
on the global financial crisis, infrastructure in the Arab world and social
issues, provides chances of forging common action, said the official.

Al-Qassar voiced hope that the summit would take
serious decisions toward an Arab free trade area, the establishment of a customs
union by 2015, and founding a joint Arab market by 2020.

He emphasized the importance of dealing with
obstacles facing the transportation sector, setting policies for combating
unemployment, encouraging investment, supporting industries and projects, and
achieving Arab food security.

He also underscored the significance of unifying tax
and economic systems, improving the environment for joint Arab projects,
studying the possibility of establishing a fund to compensate countries that
would be harmed by integration.

The official called for developing infrastructure to
activate trade and investment among Arab countries especially in the fields of
transportation, communication, roads, railways, bridges, tunnels, ports, energy,
electricity, gas and agricultural projects.

Arab countries should approve a joint policy to keep
track of concepts related to economy, technology, and knowledge, Al-Qassar said.

The two-day Kuwait summit, the first one initially
designed to be devoted to economic issues, also adopted the Gaza crisis on the
agenda, according to Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa.

The Arab economic summit has not lost its economic
nature because of discussing the tragic situation in the Gaza Strip, which has
been under intensive Israeli offensive for the past three weeks, said Moussa on
the sidelines of Saturday's forum.

Arab economic unity council proposes to enhance inter-Arab trade

KUWAIT CITY, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Arab Economy Unity
Council called on Friday for strengthening efforts to boost bilateral trade
exchange and free trade in the Arab world.

Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa
attends a press conference in Kuwait City, Kuwait, on Jan. 16, 2009.
Moussa on Friday highlighted the importance of the incoming Kuwait summit,
while conceding the ongoing Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip shadows
the first-ever Arab economic gathering. (Xinhua/Noufal Ibrahim)

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Gallery

The council has proposed a program to develop
inter-Arab trade, especially in light of the global economic crisis, in a
working paper to be submitted to the Arab Economic, Development and Social
Summit scheduled to be held in Kuwait on Jan. 19-20, said Kuwait's official news
agency KUNA.

The proposed program aims to raise the proportion of
inter-Arab trade in the total foreign trade of Arab states from 11.4 percent to
20 percent in five years, which requires a remarkable increase in the size and
value of inter-Arab trade equivalent of 7.5 billion U.S dollars, said the
report.

Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa
attends a press conference in Kuwait City, Kuwait, on Jan. 16, 2009.
Moussa on Friday highlighted the importance of the incoming Kuwait summit,
while conceding the ongoing Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip shadows
the first-ever Arab economic gathering. (Xinhua/Wang Haijing)
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The council also made it clear in the program that
the trade gap in the various Arab commodities and goods estimated to be around
93 billion dollars annually.

The council said some Arab countries are witnessing a
surplus in some of their goods while others experience a deficit in the same
goods, stressing importance on a better Arab coordination to address this issue.

The upcoming Arab economic summit, the first ever in
the Arab world, would focus on the global financial crisis, infrastructure in
the Arab world and social issues, in addition to Gaza crisis, according to
coordinators for the summit.

Arab leaders meet in Doha as scheduled

DOHA, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Arab leaders who have arrived in Doha began holding an emergency meeting on Friday as scheduled despite it did not reach the quorum of two thirds of the 22-member Arab League to hold such a summit.

The meeting began after the Friday prayer.

About 12 or 13 leaders of the Arab countries, such as Lebanon, Syria, Libya, and Sudan, attended the meeting, though regional heavyweights Egypt and Saudi Arabia refused to attend.

According to al-Jazeera, leaders of Palestinian factions, including Hamas, also showed up in the meeting.

Arab economic summit to discuss Iraq's reconstruction process

Special report: Tension escalates in Iraq

KUWAIT CITY, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi Foreign
Minister Hoshyar Zebari said here Thursday that the first Arab Economic,
Development and Social Summit, to be held in Kuwait on Jan. 19-20, will include
a discussion on Iraq's reconstruction process, the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)
reported.

Zebari made the remarks upon arrival at the Kuwaiti
capital to represent his country at an Arab foreign ministers meeting on Friday.

He said the Iraqi government "is making determined
efforts to encourage Arab countries and investors to invest in the
reconstruction process which will serve the interests of all partners."

He hailed that the historic Arab economic summit is a
timely event to enhance cooperation and economic integration among the Arab
countries amid the ongoing world economic recession.

The two-day Kuwait summit is the first for the
22-member Arab League to exclusively devote to Arab economic, development and
social matters. The summit is expected to map out steps to improve Arab nations'
economic and social development and strengthen Arab economic integration.

Following the Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has so far killed some 1,077 Palestinians and wounded over 5,000, the Gaza war is expected to top the agenda of the summit. Arab leaders are expected to review the latest developments in the Palestinian enclave, and to find a solution to end the Israeli attacks which began on Dec. 27 last year.