Technical Committee Meeting Held at the Headquarters of UAC In preparation of the Higher Committee Meeting for Joint Arab Action

  • Beirut, Lebanon
  • 19 June 2019
2

On the occasion of the preparation of the 48th Session of the Higher Committee Meeting for Joint Arab Action scheduled tomorrow, the Union of Arab Chambers hosted a Technical Committee Meeting, in the presence of His Excellency, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Secretary General of the League of Arab States. The Meeting was headed by Dr. Kamal Hassan Ali, Assistant Secretary General and Head of the Economic Department at Arab League, Dr. Khaled Hanafy, Secretary General of the Union of Arab Chambers, H.E. Mohamed Kheir, Director of the Arab League Department of Arab Organizations and Unions, and attended by presidents, directors, secretaries-general and senior officials, all members of the Higher Committee Meeting for Joint Arab Action.

During the meeting of the Technical Committee, the agenda items were discussed at the expert level. The recommendations were adopted and submitted to the work of the 48th Session of the Higher Coordination Committee for Joint Arab Action, which will be held this year, entitled "The Role of Arab Labor Institutions in Achieving Sustainable Development Goals 2030 In the Arab region".

H.E. Mohamed Khair, the Commissioned Minister and the Director of Arab organizations and unions, expressed his thanks and appreciation to the State of Lebanon for hosting the work of the Higher Coordination Committee, he commended the role of the Union of Arab Chambers and the General Secretariat of the Union and their efforts to provide the necessary conditions, for the success of the meeting work.

Mr. Khair stressed that the Higher Coordinating Committee for Joint Arab Action is one of the oldest committees emanating from the League of Arab States and has an important role in promoting cooperation between the League of Arab States and the joint labor institutions in order to serve and achieve the objectives of Arab economic integration.

Hanafy

Dr. Khaled Hanafy, the Secretary General of UAC, welcomed the delegation of the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States, represented by HE Dr. Kamal Hassan Ali, the Assistant Secretary General - Head of the Economic Sector at the League of Arab States, H.E. Mohamed Khair, the Commissioned Minister and the Director of Arab organizations and unions, and other delegations of Arab organizations participating in the work of the Committee of Presidents, Directors, Secretaries-General and senior officials of the Arab organizations that are members of the Higher Coordination Committee for joint Arab action.

Hanafy stressed in his speech on the importance of promoting trade and investment among Arab countries and the need to remove obstacles that prevent the freedom of movement of Arab businessmen and investors, which in turn led to a decline in the movement of Arab intraregional investments and their migration out of the Arab world.

Dr. Hanafy announced that the Union of Arab Chambers, as the true representative of the Arab private sector, can play a role in this regard and be a link to help enhancing the coordination and communication between the official and competent authorities and the Union of Arab Chambers and the affiliated bodies of the Union system.

He added: "In light of the challenges facing our Arab world, it is necessary to find the mechanisms that facilitate the movement of the Arab investor and the Arab businessmen at the earliest possible opportunity, because increasing obstacles will harm the joint Arab action and prevent economic integration, which has been our dream for decades".

He also stressed that "the first steps begin to facilitate the visa, through the adoption of the Standard Visa for Arab investors and businessmen, which would strengthen the reality of investments within the Arab countries, instead of going abroad."

Kamal Hassan Ali

For his part, HE Dr. Kamal Hassan Ali, the Assistant Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, said in his speech at the opening of the meeting that "the meeting of the Higher Coordination Committee for Arab Common Action comes in the face of many transformations and challenges facing the Arab world, which necessitates the process and interaction with the requirements of the next phase," considering that "the joint Arab action organizations have a pivotal role in this field in cooperation and coordination with the League of Arab States to help realize the ambitions and aspirations of the Arab peoples, especially the Arab youth, who suffer from the increasing unemployment situation."

Dr. Kamal Hassan Ali stressed that "the Coordination Committee plays an important role in coordinating the visions and efforts between the Arab League and the joint Arab institutions of action. The Arab League is keen to always stand up to the views and demands of the Arab joint labor institutions and to benefit from their expertise in order to face the challenges that affect the reality of the homeland and the Arab citizen, through implementing the shared & clear goals and visions, pushing towards the well-being of our Arab peoples."

He stressed that "we need realistic proposals and practical implementation mechanisms to meet the requirements of the current stage," pointing out that "the topics and items raised in the work of the Committee is very important, and therefore, funding must be sought for the vital projects needed for the Arab region, and this requires enhancing the cooperation of the Arab Labor Organizations and the League of Arab States with the regional and international institutions, in particular with the United Nations, to achieve the goals of sustainable development."

Honoring

On the sidelines of the meeting of the Technical Committee, LAS honored H.E. Yahya Bakour, the President of the Union of Arab Agricultural Engineers, on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the Union.