Jeddah, KSA/Geneva, Switzerland, 07/02/2022 -  Eight Arab States among the member countries of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), will benefit from the capacity development effort of the Bank in partnership with the Arab Monetary (AMF), to help their accession to World Trade Organization (WTO).

Acting Director-General for Global Practice & Partnership at IsDB, Mr. Amer Bukvic, announced this during the Second High-Level Regional Dialogue on WTO Accession for the Arab Region. The countries are Algeria, Comoros, Lebanon, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Syria.

The dialogue follows an initiative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Finance Minister, H.E.  Muhammad bin Abdullah Al-Jadaan, calling on IsDB and the Arab Monetary Fund to support the accession process of the eight Arab States.

Mr. Bukvic stated: “The cooperation aims to enhance the human and institutional capacities of the 8 Arab countries in the process of accession, in order to facilitate their full integration into the multilateral trading system,” adding: “This dialogue comes at a time when the multilateral trading system is witnessing unprecedented pressures and our member countries are exposed to increasing challenges that require more coordination and cooperation with relevant regional and international organizations.”

Mr. Bukvic further stated that IsDB and AMF will work collectively to support the eight countries via technical support, training, and workshops. The Director-General highlighted the initiatives of IsDB in promoting trade by reaffirming the commitment of the Bank to support its Arab member countries through various programs, including the Technical Assistance Program (TAP) for Regional and Global Integration in Trade among others.

In his remarks via a recorded video message during the dialogue, President Azali Assoumani of the Union of Comoros stated that the demand of the acceding Arab countries must be met for them to be part of the global post-COVID-19 economic recovery.  

Speaking during the dialogue, Director-General of WTO, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, urged the Arab acceding countries to keep the momentum in the effort to join the organization. She stated that she was familiar with the rich resources as well as the challenges in Arab countries having visited many of the countries in the region.

Among the speakers at the opening session of the dialogue were; Dr. Abdulrahman A. Al Hamidy, Director-General and Chairman of the Board, Arab Monetary Fund (AMF); and Mr. Saqer Abdullah Almoqbel, Ambassador, Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the WTO and  Coordinator of Arab Group.