CAIRO: The Arab League will organize an Arab economic summit before the end of 2008 to discuss several topics including education, health, investment, trade and communications, said Amr Moussa, secretary general of the League of Arab States.
“The Arab world has to establish its presence both politically and economically, he explained. “Arab states need to move together to bring economic prosperity to the entire region.
While the region currently enjoys “sound economic reforms, he said, it still “faces the challenge of creating some 100 million job opportunities by the year 2020. The [question] is how to tackle that.
Moussa was speaking at an event organized by Egypt’s International Economic Forum (EIEF) in his honor. He delivered his speech to prominent Egyptian and Arab politicians and businessmen, intellectuals, members of the People s Assembly, members of the Shoura Council, and several foreign and Arab ambassadors to Egypt.
His speech followed a discussion of the current affairs in the Arab states, moderated by Nouhad El-Machnouk, a political columnist based in Beirut.
Founded in 1998, EIEF is a nongovernmental organization committed to “Egypt’s economic prosperity, working to maintain the country’s position as a regional economic power, capable of integrating into the global economy through multilayered reforms. The organization is currently chaired by Shafik Gabr, who is the chairman and managing director of Artoc Group for Investment and Development.
Moussa emphasized the need to develop and improve the deteriorating standards of education throughout the region.
“The world today is looking for well qualified and skilled employees, he said. “If the level of education continues the way it is, we will not be able to be competitive enough in leading positions across all sectors.
On another note, he called for an end to the struggle in Sudan, saying that while it would take all parties involved to agree on the way to solve it, “there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
When tackling the issue of the Arab-Israeli struggle, Moussa said, “Israel does not abide by the law in a lot of respects. The Arab states, he added, are prepared to end the struggle with Israel if it complies with the agreements that have been reached.
He also said that the peace process has “completely died.
Moussa called on the international community to pay as much attention to poverty as it does to terrorism. “The entire world speaks of terrorism all the time and does not give much attention to poverty even though it is equally dangerous.
He then stressed the importance of giving due attention to environmental issues, particularly global warming, which threatens millions of lives across the world.
“International reports warn that climate change will cause floods that will result in creating the world’s biggest refugee crisis, he said. “Experts predict that will happen sometime this century.and will wipe out entire countries and islands.
The issue has been placed before the National Security Council, as it endangers worldwide “security.
