DECISION ON AFRO-ARAB COOPERATION
Doc. EX.CL/482 (XIV)
The Executive Council:
1. TAKES NOTE of the Report of the Commission on Afro-Arab Cooperation;
2. WELCOMES the efforts of the Chairperson of the Commission and the Secretary General of the League of Arab States to upgrade the annual InterSecretariat consultative meetings to college-to-college meetings;
3. ALSO WELCOMES the ongoing preparations by the Commission and the League of Arab States of the Second Afro-Arab Summit scheduled to be held in 2009 and REQUESTS them to continue consultations on the venue of the Summit before the next session of the Executive Council in July 2009;
4. ONCE AGAIN WELCOMES the offer of the Great Libyan Arab Jamahiriya to host the Thirteenth Session of the Standing Commission of the Afro-Arab Cooperation and URGES the Chairperson of the Commission and the Secretary General of the League of Arab States to determine the dates of the Session in consultation with the host country before the next Ordinary Session of the Executive Council in July 2009;
5. ENDORSES the initiative to create direct working relations between African and Arab Peace and Security Councils and URGES the Chairperson of the Commission and the Secretary General of the League of Arab States to develop a viable mechanism to ensure proper coordination between the two organs;
6. CALLS UPON the Chairperson of the Commission and the Secretary General of the League of Arab States to expedite the establishment of a Joint Afro- Arab Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Agriculture and Professions, as recommended by the Workshop on the Role of Chambers of Commerce in Promoting Afro-Arab Trade held in Cairo, Egypt from 29 to 30 November 2008;
7. ENDORSES the organization of the following events and meetings:
(i) First edition of the Afro-Arab Development Forum to be held in an Arab country towards the end of 2009 and CALLS UPON African and Arab policy makers, civil society organizations, private sectors, intellectuals and prominent individuals to actively participate at the Forum. Council also CALLS UPON the African Development Bank, the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, the Islamic Development Bank and other African and Arab financial institutions to support the organization of the Forum;
(ii) Joint Afro-Arab Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture and Food Security to be held in 2009 and CALLS UPON all Member States of the African Union and the League of Arab States to actively participate at the meeting;
(iii) High-level Experts Meeting on the Prospects of Investment in Africa and the Arab Regions to be held in 2009 and CALLS UPON the Commission and the League of Arab States to commence preparations for this important meeting;
(iv) Afro-Arab Tournaments and Competitions and CALLS UPON the Chairperson of the Commission and the Secretary General of the League of Arab States to facilitate the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Technical Secretariat of the Council of Arab Ministers of Youth and Sport with the relevant organ of the African Union.
8. REITERATES its Decision EX.CL/Dec.411 (XII) on the upgrading of the current Afro-Arab Cooperation Unit within the Commission to the level of a Division, with the necessary human and financial resources and URGES the Commission to expedite the process;
9. REQUESTS the Commission to follow-up on the implementation of this Decision and to report to the next Ordinary Session of the Executive Council in July 2009.