Arab industrial integration vital for Common Market

Egypt's Minster of Industry and Technology Development Ali Al-Saeedi said on Sunday that Egypt spares no effort to achieve Arab industrial integration in a bid to setting up an Arab common market.

"Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak keeps on his call for an Arab common market as the only way to face the threats standing against the Arab nation" Al-Saeedi said.

Saeedi said the hoped-for Arab integration in industry guarantees "a competitive advantage for Arab goods in regional and international markets, especially in textiles, petrochemicals, food industries," he added, stressing the need for more pan-Arab investments in various fields.

The minister called for the need of achieving an Arab industrial integration that guarantees the Arab commodities its ability to compete in world markets especially in the area of textile industries; petrochemicals and food industries.

In a statement he made in Cairo yesterday, he added that a work paper stressing the need of attaining an integrated Arab industry will be debated to the conference of the Arab ministers of industry and minerals which will start its work today in Amman. He explained that this paper stresses the need of achieving an Arab industrial integration and draws a prospective for the necessary executive steps for that so as to draw a comprehensive Arab plan to be submitted for the next Arab summit for approval and then submitted for the council of the Arab economic unity council for implementation.

The Egyptian minister underlined the importance of increasing inter- Arab investments in all fields especially in the industrial fields and the need of eliminating all obstacles impeding the flow of commodities and industrial products among the Arab states.