Arab Customs Union to be established by 2015: Arab League

The Arab League plans to establish an Arab Customs Union by January 2015, said its Assistant Secretary General for Economic Affairs Mohamed bin Ibrahim Al-Tuwaijri Sunday, Saudi newspaper Al-jazeera reported.

“The establishment of the Arab Customs Union was waiting for a political decision to be implemented,” Tuwaijri said.

Tuwaijri called on Arab governments to streamline bilateral trade between Arab countries, and said “Bilateral trade has grown significantly—between 10 to 20 percent—in the Arab countries due to the role played by Arab companies in manufacturing, producing and exporting goods to foreign countries.” He added that the Arab Spring contributed to Arab nationalism, and he called on governments to engage youth.

In a meeting held at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo April 13, the chair of the 93rd round of the Economic and Social Council Sidi Ould Tah urged the Arab economy ministers to complete the Free Arab Trade Zone.