Plan to create Arab Common Market by 2020

[Al Bhatti]

September 02, 2014

Plan to create Arab Common Market by 2020
Pan-Arab Customs Union discussed

The Committee on Arab Customs Union, a body of the Arab League (AL), on Monday started discussions on issues relating to the creation of a functional pan-Arab customs union by 2015 and an Arab common market by 2020.

During the committee's two-day, the UAE, represented by Alia Al Marmoom, Director of Customs Affairs at the Federal Customs Authority (FCA), and other member states, will be discussing an action plan and deadlines for resolving pending issues including a unified pan-Arab customs law.

Tamer Abdulaziz, Director of Regional Agreements at Egypt's Ministry of Industry and Trade, who chaired the committee's meeting, said the said law is still under consideration because of reservations on some of its articles.

The union seeks to issue a enact a pan-Arab customs tariff on trade with non-Arab countries, added Abdulaziz in statements on the sidelines of Monady's meeting.

Arab Customs Union was created by the Arab League at its 2009 Arab Economic and Social Development Summit, which was held in Kuwait, with the aim of achieving a fully-functional Arab customs union by 2015 and an Arab common market by 2020 and increasing inter-Arab trade and integration.

Plan to create Arab Common Market by 2020 - Emirates 24/7

 

[al-Hasani]

By 2020 the Arab world will have close to 500 million citizens and an even bigger economy and by then a GDP close to 3.5-4 trillion dollars combined if everything goes as it should. The economic potential of the Arab world is enormous due to its extremely stratetgic location, enormous natural riches, human capital, unexplored markets, potential of growth and the upcoming legal reforms in many countries.

All it takes is even closer cooperation and an end to the unrest in the 3-4 Arab countries affected and political changes. Once that happens the Arab world will have an endless potential.

Oh, did I mention some of the youngest populations on the planet that are increasingly getting more and more educated by large? Which is ideal for economic growth too.

One day there should be a united currency too. Like Euros in the EU. But that's something for the distant future. Today there are more pressing matters but this is a great step forward although this has been discussed for years. There are already plenty of local markets that transcend Arab borders.

 

[al-Hasani]

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A stable and prospering economy = much lesser chance of instability. The primarily goal for all Arab countries and Muslim countries for that matter should be to focus on the economy first and when that is stable and in good hands the focus should be put on everything else. Be it social, political, legal etc. changes.

Often instability, conflicts, social and even religious unrest is fueled by the economic situation. We have seen countless of examples of that from ALL over the world. The "Arab Spring" is a good recent example of this too.

But you can't have a good economy in a unstable country nor a good education nor peace and prosperity. Whole generations are wasted and they will be unable to give their knowledge to the new generation like in stable countries because there is nothing to give to the next generation.

Look at the Iraqi generation for example since the early 1980's. Hell even that in between and the one that is being born while we speak. They don't have a bright future if the country does not change.

 

[TeesraIndiotHunter]

By 2020 the Arab world will have close to 500 million citizens and an even bigger economy and by then a GDP close to 3.5-4 trillion dollars combined if everything goes as it should. The economic potential of the Arab world is enormous due to its extremely stratetgic location, enormous natural riches, human capital, unexplored markets, potential of growth and the upcoming legal reforms in many countries.

All it takes is even closer cooperation and an end to the unrest in the 3-4 Arab countries affected and political changes. Once that happens the Arab world will have an endless potential.

Oh, did I mention some of the youngest populations on the planet that are increasingly getting more and more educated by large? Which is ideal for economic growth too.

One day there should be a united currency too. Like Euros in the EU. But that's something for the distant future. Today there are more pressing matters but this is a great step forward although this has been discussed for years. There are already plenty of local markets that transcend Arab borders.

Libya, Iraq, Syria, and Egypt are burning.

Palestinians are occupied. Lebanese are at the expense of Israel. Jordan just signed $15 billion dollar gas deal with Israel.

As long as political system in Arab World is dysfunctional, Arab World will remain the harlot of West and Western corporations exploiting the crap out of Arab potential.

Monarchies can work in GCC and are working quite well since centuries. Good for you guys.

But wider Arab World needs to have political stability. And Mubarak/SISI/Assad/Gaddafi style oppressive regimes are not "governments" but dictatorships under which "forced calm" reigns, instead of political stability.

Political parties like Erdogan's AKP or Egypt Muslim Brotherhood, or Tunisia Al Nahda are/were the best chance of Arab revival. These parties are from the masses...are not crazy ISIS type extremist...and give the wider masses of their respective nations to express themselves.

Arabs as a whole do not want to be irreligious secular Westerners...nor do they want to be idiotic hyper retarded ISIS-type crazies...They want to be normal Arabs that they always have been throughout history.

And guess what? parties like AKP of Turkey, Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt, Al Nahda in Tunisia etc. are exactly that. These parties are moderate "Islamic" parties. The benefit of these parties is that they block the rise of ISIS type crazies since the narrative of "Islamic" construction of society is already taken over by these political forces.

In the absence of these forces....the vacuum is created where large portion of society feels under-attack culturally from hyper secularized/westernized (in people's perspective) elites..That vacuum gets filled by most radical elements then (as it is the law of politics. Whenever the vacuum is created..the most radical forces rise to fill it up. ENTIRE history is witness to this)...

So, GCC's strategy of "killing" genuine Islamic parties is the biggest mistake one can make. What should have been done instead was to align GCC with the likes of MB, Al Nahda, AKP etc..and to build mutual interest over-time..slowly establish genuine political stability across Arab World..increase trade-networks, cultural ties, etc. This would have provided Arabs with a genuine environment to flourish like no other people on planet! But alas!

Now, look whats happening to millions of Arabs in countries like Libya, Syria, Iraq, and even Egypt. There is no genuine political system in place that can manage millions of masses across Arab World.

Tunisia is the only hope as of now. Hopefully, their elections will go smoothly..