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Beirut, 24 July 2003 (United Nations Information Service)--The
Arab Ministerial Meeting organized by the United Nations Economic
and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) in preparation for
the 5th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization
(WTO), to be held in Cancun, Mexico, on 10-14 September 2003,
opened today at the United Nations House in Beirut.
Attending the Meeting were: Sheikh Hamad bin Faysal Al Thani,
Qatari Minister of Economy and Trade, Mr. Ghassan Al-Rifai, Syrian
Minister of Foreign Economy and Trade, Mr. Youssef Boutrous-Ghali,
Egyptian Minister of Foreign Trade, Sheikh Hamid Bin Ahmad
El-Mu’ala, United Arab Emirates Minister of Planning, Mr.
Salaheddine Al Bushayr, Jordanian Minister of Industry and Trade,
Mr. Khaled Rajeh El Sheikh, Yemeni Minister of Industry and Trade,
Mr. Noureddine Boukrouh, Algerian Minister of Trade, Mr. Abdel
Hamid Moussa Kasha, Sudanese Minister of Trade and Mr. Marwan
Hamadeh, Lebanese Minister of Economy and Trade.
Also attending the Meeting were: representatives from WTO, the
League of Arab States (LAS), the International Development
Research Centre-Canada, the United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD), the World Intellectual Property Organization
(WIPO), the International Trade Centre (ITC), the World Customs
Organization (WCO), the Arab Fund for Economic and Social
Development (AFESD), the General Union of Chambers of Commerce,
Industry and Agriculture for Arab Countries (GUCCIA), the
Inter-Arab Investment Guarantee Corporation (IAIGC), The Council
of the Arab Economy Unity (CAEU), the Arab Organization of
Agricultural Development (AOAD), the Arab Industrial Development
and Mineral Organization (AIDMO), the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF),
the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the
Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), the
Arab Planning Institute (API), and the Islamic Development Bank
(IDB).
Speaking at the opening session, which was covered live by
Tele-Liban and the News Broadcasting Network (NBN), were: ESCWA
Executive Secretary Mervat Tallawy, Mr. Ahmed Goweily, Secretary
General of Arab Economic Unity Council, Lebanese Deputy Prime
Minister Issam Fares, Mr. Hisham Youssef, Personal Representative
of the League of Arab States Secretary-General, Ms. Lakshami Puri,
Representative of the Secretary-General of UNCTAD, Dr. Alvaro
Silva Calderon, Secretary-General of the Organization of Petroleum
Exporting Countries (OPEC), Mr. Abdel Hamid Mamdouh,
Representative of the Director-General of WTO, and Mr. Jeffrey
Lewis, Representative of the World Bank.
In her statement, Tallawy stated that the Arab Ministerial Meeting
in preparation for the WTO 5th Ministerial Conference taking place
in Cancun on September 10 to 14, 2003 acquires special importance
especially with the regional problems taking place in the Arab
nations. Tallawy said that the WTO is promoting regional
integration. “Moreover, the Arab countries have an increased
knowledge and awareness in the topics pertaining to the WTO,” she
said.
As for Goweily, he stated that there are valuable initiatives
coordinating the Arab countries issues, such as agriculture, trade
and services, pharmaceutical agreements and so forth. Goweily
added that Arab countries should seek to incorporate themselves in
the world economy in order to have a larger part in the world
trade. “The Arab countries have to integrate their economy in a
more comprehensive approach in order to achieve their goals”,
Goweily also stated that the Arabs have to undertake reforms in
all fields and improve their production, as well as eliminate all
barriers.
In Fares' point of view, the Arab countries should unify to gain
more strength, and should become increasingly responsible in order
to serve their own interests in the WTO. Fares also added that the
efforts put in the two-day meeting by the Arab ministers would
give the Arab region better deals to enter the WTO and the age of
globalization.
In his statement, Youssef stated that the Arab meetings for
consultation has become an important issue and that growing Arab
cooperation would help the Arabs reach their objectives. Youssef
also said that developing countries could add more equilibrium to
the international trade system, something that was not implemented
in the past. He added that it is important for the Arab countries
to commit more to the rules and emphasize liberalization, as well
as push the private sector to participate more in the world trade.
As for Puri, she said that UNCTAD provided a unique forum for
developing and developed countries to meet, helping to clarify
complex and strategic issues of international trade through
research and technical analysis, thus creating a comprehensive and
development-oriented understanding of the implications and
options. Puri also stressed that UNCTAD has developed a
comprehensive program of technical cooperation for assisting Arab
countries in their relationship with WTO.
On the other hand, Calderon spoke of the “Agreement Establishing
the World Trade Organization” which refers to the parties
recognizing that their relations in the field of trade and
economic endeavor should be conducted with a view to raising
standards of living and meeting other economic objectives, while
allowing for the optimal use of the world’s resources in
accordance with the objective of sustainable development. Calderon
added that the special concern of OPEC is the trade energy
services, and that the interests of developing countries are
properly represented in such important areas as the classification
of energy services, the opening up of markets and the transfer of
technology.
As for Mamdouh, he stated that WTO is satisfied with the
increasingly growing role of Arab countries. Mahmoud added that
trade liberalization can contribute to the increasing rates of
growth, but it’s not an objective and cannot be separated from the
politics involved, and as such not underestimating the burden and
the difficulty of such tasks.
According to Lewis, the World Bank has been supporting the “Doha
Agenda” and that the Doha outcome has encouraged the World Bank to
expand its resources devoted to trade issues and to better
coordinate their activities, both internally and with a growing
range of external partners, “many of whom are present at this
meeting”. Lewis added that reducing poverty requires more
engagement from the Arab countries. He also stated that the World
Bank’s aim is to ensure that trade policy is aligned to provide
the maximum contribution to development.
The first session, which focused on the State-of-Play of the Doha
Work Program and the Outcome of the Expert Meeting, included an
intervention from Mr. Youssef Boutrous-Ghali, Egyptian Minister of
Foreign Economy and Trade, Abdel Hamid Mamdouh, and Ms. Thouka Al
Khalidi, Chief, Globalization and Regional Integration Division at
ESCWA.
Boutros-Ghali stated that a unified position from the Arab
countries is difficult to achieve since each of them has a
different economy and one can find more differences than common
points. Ghali added that the Arab countries must talk about
different national positions but use these dissimilarities not as
conflicts but as interests. He concluded that the meetings at the
ministerial level facilitate the work and avoid disagreements on a
political front.
Mamdouh spoke about the advantages of the trade and services
sector and advised the Arab countries to back it up in order to
increase the rate of other sectors. He also spoke about the
liberalization of trade and services, which helps attract foreign
capital.
On her part, Al Khalidi read out the points of the outcome of the
expert meeting that took place on 22-23 July 2003.
In the second session, which discussed Agriculture and Market
Access for Non-Agricultural Products, Lebanese Minister of Economy
and Trade Marwan Hamadeh stressed the importance of the role
agriculture plays in the world trade and created, in a riveting
intervention, a forum for discussion whereby several ministers
discussed the topic.
The Ministerial Meeting, which will conclude tomorrow, is
organized in cooperation with the World Bank, the League of Arab
States (LAS), the International Development Research Centre-Canada
(IDRC) and UNCTAD. It aims to clarify the position of Arab
countries on issues under discussion in the WTO 5th Ministerial
Conference. It also aims to discuss the progress made in the
current negotiations in WTO and the relevant issues of priority
concern to Arab countries including energy services.
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