With the participation of a Syrian delegation, headed by Dr. Muhammad Samer al-Khalil, Minister of Economy and Foreign Trade, the meeting of the Economic and Social Council of the Arab League at the ministerial level kicked off on Monday in the Saudi city of Jeddah.
The meeting comes within the framework of the ongoing preparations for holding the 32nd regular session of the Arab Summit scheduled to take place next Friday.
In a speech during the meeting, Dr. Muhammad Samer al-Khalil, Minister of Economy and Foreign Trade, said “We thank Algeria for its efforts during its previous presidency of the Arab summit, and we congratulate Saudi Arabia for hosting the current session of the summit, wishing it all success.”
Al-Khalil noted that in light of exceptional circumstances resulting from international changes facing the world, including Arab countries, food security became a basic issue and urgent need, which entails strengthening joint Arab action in this domain.
Al-Khalil added “We call on the Arab countries to participate in investing in Syria in light of the existence of promising opportunities and new laws that attract investment,” stressing that Syria is ready to discuss ways of joint bilateral and multilateral development in a way that benefits the Arab peoples.
For his part, Algerian Ambassador in Cairo and the permanent representative to the Arab League, Abdel Hamid Shbira, welcomed the Syrian delegation at the beginning of the meeting, saying: “We congratulate Syria for resuming its activities in the meetings of the Arab League institutions.”
For his part, Saudi Finance Minister, Mohammed Al-Jadaan said “We welcome the return of Syria to the Arab League and we look forward to joint work in a way that serve our peoples’ interest.”
“We are keen to support the process of joint Arab action and to implement the decisions that will be issued at the summit and will reflect positively on our countries and peoples,” Al-Jadaan added.
“We welcome return of Syria to the League and the participation of its delegation in the meeting, as the General Secretariat will coordinate with the delegation and brief it on all developments of joint Arab action,” Assistant Secretary General of the Arab League, Hossam Zaki said.
In turn, UAE Minister of Economy, Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri said “We stress our full support for efforts of joint Arab action to develop cooperation in various economic and social fields, and we look forward to achieving a qualitative leap in these fields.”
In the same context, Palestinian Minister of Economy Khaled al-Osaily welcomed Syria’s return to the Arab League, appealing to the League member states to continue providing support to the Palestinian people who adhere to their land and their legitimate national rights.
According to statements by the Arab League, the Arab Economic and Social Council is discussing ways to enhance joint Arab action to achieve sustainable development, and other social and economic issues of concern to Arab countries.
The Syrian delegation encompasses Assistant Minister of Economy and Foreign Trade for International Affairs, Rania Ahmed, Director of Arab Affairs Department, Ambassador Dr. Riyad Abbas, Director of International Relations, Dr. Anas al-Bikai, and Counselor Ihsan Rumman from Office of Foreign Minister.
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency