The Second Arab Economic Summit, which opened in the Egyptian town of Sharm el-Sheikh yesterday, should be more concerned than ever about achieving real inter-Arab economic co-operation and progress. It was decided to hold special summit conferences to debate economic issues, as the regular Arab summits have failed to give the necessary attention to such issues, because of the many political topics affecting the region, the Palestinian problem in particular. The first such summit, held in Kuwait two years ago, was full of draft resolutions for enhancing economic co-operation and free trade exchange between Arab states. This year's summit, however, is of special significance as it comes at a time when some Arab countries are witnessing street unrest. In Tunisia, this has resulted in the toppling of President Ben Ali, because the young Arabs there are suffering from economic hardships, high food prices and rising unemployment. In addition to the draft resolutions prepared over the past two years for the endorsement of the Arab leaders, in order to promote Arab unity and expedite the creation of a customs union, the participants should discuss reducing the high levels of unemployment among young Arabs. For example, when Arab countries need to import workers, they should give priority to highly skilled and well-educated Arabs from other countries, instead of Asians and Africans. Meanwhile, the rich Arab countries should pump more funds into agricultural projects in countries such as Sudan, in order to boost food production and rid the Arab region of the spectre of hunger. The governments of these countries should eliminate the red tape hindering Arab investments in their countries and give priority to the Arab markets, when exporting the products of these projects. The potential and natural wealth of the Arab countries could help turn this region into another Southeast Asian tiger, if only the Arabs have the will and desire to set aside their political differences and create such cooperation projects. Inter-Arab economic co-operation requires more than special summits for debating economic issues; there must be an honest desire for co-operation on the part of Arab leaders, governments and people.
