The Arab Economic Development Summit that has ended yesterday in Kuwait announced its support of the Palestinian cause, condemned the Israeli military aggression on the Gaza Strip and decided to contribute to the reconstruction of the sector. Yet the Arab leaders did not form a joint mechanism for the implementation of these resolutions. The resolutions did not include any reference to the Arab initiative that a number of Arab leaders had different views on during the meetings of the first day. Qatar asked to refer to these views, but the Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa said the continuation of the Arab peace initiative is linked to Washington resuming the role of the honest mediator between the Arabs and the Israelis. Despite efforts for Arab reconciliation, Moussa said the Arab situation is still tense and volatile, and extra effort should be made to restore Arab solidarity. Denying Arab League bias towards certain Palestinian factions, Moussa said: “Such rumors are considered mental terrorism. I say Hamas is 100% wrong and Fatah is also 100% wrong.” Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammad Sabah said the summit is a road map for the Arab economy because it focused on the development of the Arab citizens and on saving them from ignorance, poverty and disease through a two-billion-dollar Development Fund.
The summit called for establishing an Arab customs union as of 2010 and the completion of all its requirements by 2015 in preparation for an Arab common market. The summit also decided to launch the Arab railway and power link projects, and adopted an emergency program for food security.
The Arab leaders admitted that the Arab world still faces challenges affecting its security and independence. They said that the unemployment, the poor living standards, the low intra-Arab trade, education, climate change and energy are behind the Arab crisis. President Hosni Mubarak in his wrap-up speech that was delivered on his behalf by Prime Minister Dr. Ahmed Nazif said that inter-Arab trade is still weak at 10-12% of the total Arab trade and at US$ 126 billion according to statistics in 2007. He called for a joint Arab vision to address the challenges and the international financial crisis away from political differences. Nazif invited the next development summit in Egypt in two years.
