Baghdad: Iraq on Monday called on the Arab nation to form a unified economic alliance that would leverage the region’s human and geographical strengths to boost economic integration and shared growth. Speaking at the senior officials’ meeting ahead of the 5th Arab Development Summit, currently chaired by Iraq, Iraqi Minister of Trade and Director-General of the Department of International Economic Relations, Ryadh Fakher, emphasized the importance of this preparatory meeting.

According to Kuwait News Agency, Fakher stressed that the meeting serves as a platform for concrete solutions, not just routine discussions, with a focus on strategic projects that would boost economies and create jobs. He added that building a common economic front is achievable and essential if Arab nations invest in their collective strengths and natural resources and act with shared purpose. The meeting aims to lay the groundwork for an agenda centered on priority development issues, aimed at producing meaningful outcomes for the summit.

Assistant Secretary-General for Social Affairs at the Arab League, Haifa Abu Ghazaleh, stated that the summit draft agenda includes 30 key items, developed by ministerial councils, regional organizations, and relevant committees. Among them are the 10-year Arab food security strategy and the Blue Economy initiative proposed by the Mauritanian president, as well as the Arab League Secretary-General’s initiative, “The Arab Artificial Intelligence Initiative.”

She also highlighted Iraq’s proposal to create a council of Arab trade ministers to reorganize regional trade under the League’s umbrella. The outcomes of the meeting are set to be submitted to the Economic and Social Council’s ministerial session on Tuesday, which will finalize the draft resolutions ahead of the Arab Summit scheduled for May 17.