Ali.009
FULL MEMBER
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- Sep 7, 2008
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Arabs have long tried to unite themselves after the British empire carved up the Arab nation into 22 small decript little states. The boundaries of the states sutied the colonial empires. For example Lebanon had no basis for existence except that a majority of the population was Christian. Similarly Yemen was broken up into two parts, a victim of the cold war. Iraq was put together arbitrarily, and Iran cut down to size separated from its Azeri roots. Norhter Africa was broken up into states that defied logic and Turkey of course was disunited from its depndencies.
Many have tried to put them back together. Nasser and the Baathists tried. Qaddafi announced several mergers as did many others. All failed. Now the Arabs are trying to put together an economic union in the Middle East.
KUWAIT CITY: Arab leaders hold their first economic summit in Kuwait this week, aiming to boost cooperation amid deep political divisions exposed by the deadly Israeli offensive on Gaza Strip.
The January 19-20 meeting was planned to be non-political, but Israel’s war on Hamas and the failure of the Arab League to convene a separate emergency summit has pushed Gaza high on to the agenda.
Israel’s unilateral ceasefire which went into effect early on Sunday may reduce the immediate urgency of the summit’s discussion on Gaza but leaders will still plight of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
In addition to political aspects, they will look at proposals for a multi-billion dollar fund to help reconstruct the battered enclave, which has been devastated by the three-week Israeli onslaught.
Qatar on Friday hosted an Arab meeting on Gaza for which it failed to gather the needed quorum to turn it into an official Arab League emergency summit. Regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia had ignored Qatar’s invitation and instead hastily organised a Gulf summit on Thursday addressing the Gaza crisis.
The “Arab situation is in very big chaos… It is regrettable and harmful,” Arab League chief Amr Mussa said, acknowledging the division in Arab ranks on the issue.
The Emir of Kuwait said the Gaza issue will be at the heart of the Arab Economic Summit and he “will not accept holding a summit in Kuwait without discussing Gaza.”
Also on the agenda are 10 major proposals aimed at boosting Arab economic cooperation and integration and bridging the wide gap between rich and poor Arab nations.
They include a pan-Arab power grid, a pan-Arab rail network, setting up an Arab customs union, besides the other pressing issues of poverty, unemployment and Arab food security, and development of the health and education sectors.
Kuwait’s Finance Minister Mustafa al-Shamali said around 425 projects have been studied and selected to be reviewed at the summit and then offered for private sector investors to carry out.
He said the summit intends to herald a new era in joint Arab economic action that has moved very slowly in past decades, producing largely insignificant achievements.
Inter-Arab trade and investment remain very small, parity between the “haves” and the “have-nots” has only widened and most joint Arab economic projects have been either stillborn or short of expectations.
Official reports show that Arab investments in other Arab countries amounted to less than 20 percent of Arab investments in the United States in 2007. The average unemployment rate in Arab countries reached 14 percent at the end of 2007 with at least 18 million unemployed Arabs, according to the Arab League. Unemployment rates in some poor countries are much higher.
The economic gap is striking, especially between the oil-rich Arab nations, which have accumulated more than two trillion dollars from oil revenues in the past six years, and poor Arab countries which endure miserable conditions.
Qatar’s per capita income of 72,300 dollars, the largest in Arab world, is 80 times higher than the 900 dollars in Yemen, the poorest Arab nation. Poverty topped 40 percent in seven Arab countries, 10-20 percent in five countries and less than 10 percent in three nations, according to official Arab League reports.
The 22 Arab nations have a total population of around 330 million, 61 percent of them in the working age group of 15 to 65 years.
Illiteracy affects 30 percent of the population aged 15 years and above, affecting 15 percent among males and a striking 40.6 percent among women. The Arab economic summit is being held amid a global financial crisis which has hit the Arab world hard. Arab League officials estimate that Arab countries’ losses from the crisis is 2.5 trillion dollars so far.
The value of Arab investments overseas, estimated at close to 2.5 trillion dollars, dropped by around 40 percent. Arab stock markets last year shed around 600 billion dollars of their capitalisation. - AFP. Arabs eye economic unity
