Inter-Arab trade top of agenda at Riyadh economic summit

Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi (C) addresses the summit Arab leaders began a two-day economic summit in Riyadh on Monday, calling for the strengthening of mutual trade and cooperation in order to face challenges brought on by the Arab Spring uprisings .
"We should achieve an Arab common market," said Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi at the opening of the third Arab Economic and Social Development summit, urging Arab nations to "catch up" in the realm of free trade.
"Very little has been done to improve trade between Arab countries," which reportedly comprises no more than 10 percent of total Arab commerce.
Saudi Crown Prince Salman bin Abdul Aziz, who stood in for ailing King Abdullah in hosting the summit, highlighted economic and social challenges facing the region and also pointed to weak inter-Arab trade.
"The urgent development issues that face our countries are very difficult, including poverty, unemployment and disease. Efforts must be made to confront and eliminate them," he said.
"The level of trade between us does not match our ambitions."
Arab foreign ministers who met ahead of the summit prepared a draft agreement on inter-Arab investment, which if approved would allow a free flow of investments and capital between states, Saudi Finance Minister Ibrahim al-Assaf said.
On Monday, discussions revolved around the establishment of a free trade area and honouring investment agreements.
Other topics on the agenda include the land connection of railways, developing the roads and maritime transport, increasing investments, intra-regional trade, and customs union projects.
There will also be discussion on how to achieve development through supporting small and medium-sized businesses, with focus on tackling the problem of unemployment.
A report issued by the Social and Economic Council said that unemployment in Djibouti was at 50 percent, while it was only 0.5 percent in Qatar. It added that 17 million Arab citizens are unemployed and the intra-regional investments have not transcended $25 billion.
The 22 Arab states have a total population of more than 367 million, but total Arab gross domestic product represents no more than three percent of global gross domestic product.
The Arab region sits on 62 percent of the world's crude oil reserves and its oil-producing nations export 32 percent of total global exports.
The area is also home to 24 percent of the world's natural gas reserves. But Arab gas exports represented only 5.8 percent of global exports in 2010.

Additional reporting: AFP