Kuwait proceeds with completion of ratification procedures of Arab Customs Coop. Agreement

CAIRO, Aug 31 (KUNA) -- Kuwait confirmed on Thursday that it is continuing to complete the procedures for ratifying the Arab Customs Cooperation Agreement, which entered into force last year after the agreement of 7 member states to the League of Arab States (LAS).

Acting Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance for Economic Affairs Talal Al-Namesh.
This came in a statement by the Acting Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance for Economic Affairs Talal Al-Namesh to KUNA, at the conclusion of his leadership of the Kuwaiti delegation participating in the 112th session of the ministerial Arab Economic and Social Council.
At the session's conclusion, Al-Namesh said that the Kuwaiti delegation stressed during the discussions the importance of economic agreements within the framework of completing the requirements for establishing the Greater Arab Free Trade Area (GAFTA) in order to achieve Arab economic integration.
In this context, Kuwait has confirmed its interest in completing the procedures for ratifying the Agreement on Liberalization of Trade in Services between Arab countries, as well as the Arab Customs Cooperation Agreement, he added.
The Kuwaiti proposals that were put forward during the preparatory meetings for the 112th session in the past two days received approval and were adopted at today's meeting and submitted among a number of items to the Council of the Arab League, he explained.
He pointed to the Kuwaiti proposals adopted by the ministerial meeting, which are amending the standards for establishing specialized Arab organizations and entities emanating from LAS, as well as a proposal to update the criteria for presenting economic and social topics to the Council.
He revealed that Kuwait supported Saudi Arabia's proposal that it submitted to the Economic and Social Council regarding the establishment of a Council of Arab Cybersecurity Ministers, underlining the importance of the proposal in view of the increasing risks resulting from cyber attacks on electronic networks in today's world.
He referred to the discussions that took place in today's meeting and said that they centered on preparing the economic and social file for the League Council at the level of the Arab Summit in its regular 33rd session, which is scheduled to be held in Bahrain next March, as well as preparing for the Arab Economic and Social Development Summit in Mauritania next November, in addition to topics of ways to enhance economic and social cooperation between Arab countries. (end) mm.lr.