Bahrain participates in 107th session of Arab League’s Economic and Social Council

Cairo, Feb. 4 (BNA): The delegation of the Kingdom of Bahrain has participated in the meeting of the Economic and Social Council at the ministerial level in its 107th regular session, held virtually today. The delegation was headed by Ambassador of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the Arab Republic of Egypt and Permanent Representative to the Arab League, Hisham bin Muhammed Al-Jowder. The Council approved a number of recommendations and decisions related to economic and social issues, followed up on the implementation of the 106 session decisions and briefed the participants on the economic and social files to be submitted to the Council at the next summit level. Among the most important of these issues are the support for the Arab countries hosting the Syrian refugees to reduce their economic and social burden, the progress made so far to complete the Greater Arab Free Trade Area and the establishment of the Arab Customs Union, as well as the Arab strategy for the peaceful uses of atomic energy. Among the topics also are the initiative of the United Arab Emirates to launch the Arab Space Genius Programme, the Arab vision on digital economy, the sustainable Arab agricultural development strategy and the Arab Programme for Sustainable Food Security. In the context of the economic and social files, the meeting discussed many issues, the most important of which are: The Agreement of the Arab Common Market for Electricity and the executive plan for the Arab Aquaculture Strategy In addition, the meeting approved the minutes of the council's technical committees, such as the implementation and Follow-up Committee, the Arab Rules of Origin Permanent Committee, the Committee of Legal Experts specialised in developing a dispute settlement mechanism within the framework of the Greater Arab Free Trade Area and the Committee for Liberalization of Trade in Services. The Council also followed up on developments of Arab international cooperation with the People's Republic of China, the Republic of India, Japan and the Federative Republic of Brazil. The participating delegation of the Kingdom of Bahrain comprised Acting Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Finance and National Economy for Financial Relations and Cooperation, Sami Mohammed Hamid, and Head of the Department of Arab Countries Relations at the Ministry of Finance and National Economy, Abdullah Abdul Hamid Al-Aradi.