(MENAFN - Qatar News Agency) The Arab League Secretary General Nabil el-Araby has on Friday said the issue of economic-social development is increasingly receiving the attention of member states especially after the establishing the norm to hold the development summit biennially to review economic and social issues and launch integrative projects in all fields.
Addressing the ministerial-level of the Arab Economic and Social Council's 24th session in Doha, el-Araby said holding the summit each two years can make up for the lack of joint Arab work in the past in these vital sectors and give more credibility to collective Arab work.
El-Araby hailed the outcome of the third summit in Riyadh, noting that it made significant decisions in relation to intra-Arab investment and urged the removal of obstacles hindering the implementation of the first two summits.
The completion of the Arab program to reduce poverty and the Arab program to implement the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are top priorities, adding that they require more attention from the Arab Economic and Social Council's ministerial level in order to implement the summit's approaches in these areas by supporting the efforts of concerned Arab ministerial councils and organizations.
On another front, el-Araby said the Palestinian people have unacceptably suffered from the practices of the Israeli occupation over several decades, noting that the international recognition of Palestine in November ushered the start of a new era towards economic and social development for the Palestinian people and has become a historic turning point, which highlights the need to further intensify efforts and devote resources to support the Palestinian economy.
As for specialized Arab organizations, the secretary general said that the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development has reviewed the situation of Arab agriculture and the strategy of sustainable agricultural development over the next two decades, in addition to the emergency Arab food security program that was adopted in the first summit in Kuwait in 2009.
El-Araby congratulated the State of Qatar for its presidency over the 24th summit, wishing luck to HE the Minister of Economy and Finance Youssef Hussein Kamal in running the preparatory meeting of the Economic and Social Council. He also thanked previous session's president Iraq for its efforts to push ahead the path of joint Arab work and enhance its bases.
