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Cairo / WAM
Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy of the UAE, has called for stronger joint pan-Arab economic action to counter current challenges, eliminate obstacles to intra-Arab trade and investment and speed up innovation and creativity to achieve economic diversification, development and prosperity.
The UAE takes great interest in the issues of joint Arab action as a main way of overcoming crises hitting the region, in particular in light of the political will to eliminate social and economic hurdles, Al Mansouri said in a speech before the 97th ministerial session of the Economic and Social Council of the League of Arab States.
Warning that the current massive challenges and crises, coupled with difficult social and economic situations, “take a heavy toll on social and economic development in our countries”, Al Mansouri said, “This, more than ever before, makes it necessary to close our ranks and achieve stronger solidarity.”
He also urged states suffering economic hardships and low employment rates to be more open, economically, and give more guarantees and incentives to Arab investors.
Intra-Arab economic cooperation, he noted, will lead to further progress, development and food security, among other things.
Al Mansouri noted that although the UAE is the world’s fifth largest oil producer, oil contributes less than 30 percent to its gross domestic product (GDP) as the country is moving to knowledge and innovation-based economy which, he said, would allow wider intra-Arab cooperation.