Arab ministers open industrial development meeting in Damascus

The eighth conference for industrial development in the Arab countries was opened in Damascus on Monday. In an inaugural speech, Syrian Prime Minister Mahmoud al-Zou'bi underlined the importance of achieving Arab industrial integration, which he said is part and parcel of Arab economic integration.

He also stressed the need to mobilize Arab economic and industrial potentials for setting up an Arab economic market and free trade zone. He stressed that Syria has been adamant on achieving pan-Arab solidarity and joint Arab action.

Meanwhile, Jordan's minister of industry and trade and chairman of the current session, Hani al-Mulki, and other Arab speakers stressed that this session is held at a time when the Arab economic arena is facing important challenges.

Some of these challenges are due to external factors such as globalization and the need to be competitive, while others are internal such as the need to have a more diverse industrial base that is less reliant on single sources industries or commodities such as oil.

Later in the day, under the chairmanship of Saudi Industry Minister Hesham Yamani, several reports were examined on the use of modern technology in promoting Arab trade.