The future of the Arab Common Market is still uncertain, reports Enjy El-Naggar The Press Syndicate hosted a lecture last week about the present and future of the Arab Common Market by the Arab League's Council for Arab Economic Unity (CAEU) Secretary- General Ahmed Goweili. "The Arab countries have been moving step by step towards establishing the Arab Common Market since 2005 by abolishing economic borders in 17 states to create a potential market of 300 million citizens," said Goweili. "The foundation of a free trade zone is the most important step which still faces obstacles," he pointed out. The obstacles to the free zone include a lack of trade facilitation services and inadequate transportation systems. In addition, Arab states are still working on overcoming the technical barriers which impede free trade between the Arab countries, as well as establishing rules governing the "country of origin" conditions in exports. Stressing that the Arab League's Social and Economic Council will meet next June to discuss these barriers, Goweili said that, "we have not yet agreed on the country of origin certificate rules. We haven't had an agreement on this subject since 1998, and it is very important to the liberalisation of Arab trade." He also indicated that all the Arab states must reach an agreement on liberalising trade in services which include transportation, banking, insurance, tourism as well as the free movement of individuals between the states signatory to the agreement. Arab trade figures reveal the urgency of speeding up steps towards the establishment of a free trade zone among Arab countries. Arab economic structures are broken up and linked primarily with the non-Arab world while interlinkages are still so weak that inter-Arab trade is only eight per cent of total Arab trade against 40 per cent with Asia and 60 per cent with Europe and America. Arab exports, 70 per cent of which are oil exports, are valued at $300 billion. The Gulf region has had a petroleum boom thanks to an upsurge in oil prices during the past few years, bringing oil exports to 23 million barrels daily. "The imports and exports of the Arab states are usually $400 billion, but nowadays they have reached $850 billion -- $500 of exports and 450 imports. Our food imports cost us $17 billion a year, mostly spent on grains imports," Goweili highlighted. Goweili has spent much of his tenure calling for the necessity of founding a common Arab customs union and a structural framework to prepare for the second phase of the Arab Common Market and a unified Arab customs space. This process, he hopes, will begin in 2015 and be completed by 2020 to be followed by unifying financial and monetary policies. "To reach this customs union and common market demands great effort from the Arab governments in the direction of achieving Arab economic cooperation and integration," he added. Goweili is calling for businessmen and Arab investors to put their investments inside the Arab region to solve the chronic problems of unemployment through providing job opportunities for citizens in joint investment projects, instead of investing their money in stock exchanges and real estate projects. "We have to reduce production costs of goods and services, to increase the competitiveness of Arab products in international markets," he said. Also, he called for accelerating steps towards Arab economic unity to face outside economical conglomerates like the EU and others all over the world. The CAEU in its coming meeting will focus on how best to improve bilateral trade in the Arab world, according to Goweili. The meeting will focus on improving investment and development in the Arab countries instead of directing it outside. Goweili said that the CAEU is trying to issue the "Arab Investor Card" which will enable Arab investors and businessmen to freely move between Arab countries without any constraints.
