Malki Opens the Arab Summit Development Preparatory Meeting

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Riad Malki presided the State of Palestine’s Delegation at the preparatory joint meeting of foreign ministers and ministers of the Economic and Social Council , for the Arab Economic and Social Development Summit that was held on Friday in the Lebanese capital, Beirut. With the participation of the National Economy Minister, Abeer Odeh.

The ministers debated social and economic development issues, addressing the obstacles that hinder the development of Arab economies, in order to sustain the latest developments in the world. The terms discussed in the meeting will be raised by Arab leaders to be adopted in the upcoming summit held on Sunday.

The ministers’ agenda consists of 27 items covering all common Arab economic, developmental and social issues.

The ministers also discussed the support of the Palestinian economy, the comprehensive plan for the development of Jerusalem in 2018-2022, the Jerusalem and Al Aqsa funds, in addition to the implementation of the resolutions on the economic boycott of occupation. Moreover, the ministers also stressed the establishment of an Arab strategic framework to eradicate multidimensional poverty in 2020,2030, the family work Platform in the Arab Region as part of Implementing the Sustainable Development 2030 ,the Arab Declaration on Identity and belonging, the Establishment of a Greater Arab Free Trade Area strategy, and the Arab Common Market for Electricity.

Furthermore, the ministers reflected on the Arab Charter for the improvement of Small and Medium Enterprises, the Arab Strategy for Sustainable Energy, Arab Food Security, and the Strategic Vision to promote and activate joint Arab cooperation in the sectors of tourism and culture, solid waste management in the Arab world, Arab Strategy 2030, the Arab Strategy for the Protection of Children in the Status of Asylum in the Arab Region, the Arab Decade for Human Rights 2019-2029, the 14th Arab Sports Games scheduled in 2021, and the economic and social consequences of hosting Syrian refugees, and their implications in host countries.

In addition, the ministers acknowledged the challenges faced by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), its implications for the host countries of the Palestinian refugees, the developments in the digital economy, supporting Arab countries in conflict, and the development in Yemen, as well as strengthening Somalia's efforts to implement the development plan and its foreign debt relief.