(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) CAIRO, Aug 31 (KUNA) -- The Economic and Social Council of the Arab League held its 98th session in Cairo on Wednesday, on the level of senior officials.
Today's meeting discussed the agenda of the council's new session, Assistant Arab League Secretary-General for Economic Affairs Mohammed Bin Ibrahim Al-Tuwaijri said.
He added that the 18 items on the agenda addressed several issues relevant to the joint Arab economic and social action, topped with following up the Grand Arab Free Trade Zone, the requirements for establishing an Arab unified custom union, and encouraging investment in the Arab countries, in line with a resolution made by the Riyadh Economic and Social Development Summit in January 2013.
Al-Tuwaijri stressed the need to give a push to the Pan-Arab investments in vital fields that are likely to enhance cooperation among the Arab states, in a bid to fulfil the expectations of the Arab peoples, focusing on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
In addition, the senior officials today followed up the implementation of resolutions taken by the former Arab summit with Latin America and Africa.
They also addressed the economic and social file of the 4th Arab-Africa summit slated for November in Malabo, capital of Equatorial Guinea.
It includes a host of joint projects for cooperation in trade, transport and other fields of sustainable development, Al-Tuwaijri said.
For his part, head of international cooperation at the Tunisian Ministry of Commerce and Industry Jamal Al-Aifa, who presided over the meeting, said that the officials had prepared the draft agenda and recommendations to be submitted to the council's ministerial meeting due on Thursday. (end) asm.msa