Ashraf Abo Arafe
Today morning, the general secretary of Arab League Mr Ahmed Abo Elghate inaugurated he 103rd ministerial-level session of the Arab Economic and Social Council kicked off at the Arab League premises on Thursday under Oman’s chairmanship and in the presence of chief of the pan-Arab body Ahmed Abul Gheit.
The session will address efforts to improve socio-economic conditions in the Arab countries and prepare the council’s dossier of reports that will be referred to Arab leaders during their summit in Tunis in March.
Talks will also take up progress in the implementation of resolutions of the fourth Arab-African summit and preparations for the fifth summit which will be hosted by Riyadh late this year.
The ministers will discuss as well cooperation with international partners, the establishment of a Greater Arab Free Trade Area and an Arab Customs Union in addition to the Arab strategy for sustainable agricultural development, Arab food security and consolidating the activities of the newly-established Arab Council for Population and Development which is working to outline regional population policies and set up an Arab Population Observatory to assess policy implementations and provide recommendations based on best practices.
