CAIRO – The Arab countries have made huge strides towards establishing a free trade area and enforcing immediate duty-free access of certain commercial products, said Finance Minister Mohamed Maeet.
The world is witnessing global challenges related to existing supply chain issues and adjusting the balance of power and trade alliances, added the minister in a speech he delivered Monday at the Forum for Promoting Economic Integration among Arab Countries: “Intra-trade and the Role of the Public and Private Sectors in Achieving this”.
The three-day meeting, which is held under the auspices of Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli, is organised by the Arab Organisation for Administrative Development and the Arab Parliament.
The current challenges require the need to adopt several reforms, enhance production rates and rationalise supply chain paths, he added.
The Arab countries have to support transportation, communications, financial services and create a link among e-commerce outlets, he went on to say.
“The repercussions of the Covid-19 have shown how the Arab countries are in need of coping with these new changes,” added the minister.
The inter-Arab trade is one of the main pillars to attain Arab economic integration, he added.
The minister further noted that the inter-Arab trade accounts 14 per cent of the total Arab trade.
The Arab countries’ imports of wheat amounted to about 21 million tons in 2020, representing about 11 per cent of the total global exports of wheat, said the minister.
The minister, meanwhile, said that Egypt has managed to successfully implement a new system for customs clearance and pre-registration of shipments in a record time.
As part of Egypt’s digital transformation strategy, the government has also updated the National Single Window for Foreign Trade Facilitation (Nafeza), he added.
