DECISION ON AFRO-ARAB COOPERATION
Doc. EX.CL/520(XV)
The Executive Council,
1. TAKES NOTE of the Report of the Chairperson of the Commission on Afro-Arab Cooperation;
2. ALSO TAKES NOTE of the on-going preparations for the Joint Meeting of African and Arab Ministers of Agriculture and the High-Level Experts Meeting on Prospects of Investment in Africa and the Arab World, scheduled for the end of 2009 and CALLS UPON the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa and other African and Arab financial institutions to provide the necessary financial and technical assistance for the organization of these important meetings;
3. WELCOMES the offer by the Government of Iraq to host the First Edition of the Afro-Arab Development Forum in 2010 and REQUESTS the commission in collaboration with the League of Arab States (LAS) to ensure maximum participation of African and Arab private sectors, civil societies including researchers, academicians and prominent individuals at this Edition;
4. TAKES NOTE of the postponement of the Thirteenth Meeting of the Standing Commission for Afro-Arab Cooperation (SCAAC), which was scheduled to be held in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya on 21 June 2009, and WELCOMES the convening of the said meeting in Tripoli, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya in October 2009;
5. REQUESTS SCAAC to propose the date and venue of the Second Afro-Arab Summit to be held during the first half of 2010 and to be preceded by a joint ministerial meeting, and to take all necessary measures to ensure the successful preparation of the Summit;
6. ALSO TAKES NOTE of the postponement of the Seventh Edition of the Afro- Arab Trade Fair, which was scheduled for Djibouti in 2009, and CALLS UPON the Host Country and the Organizing Committee of the Fair to ensure that it takes place in 2010;
7. WELCOMES the convening of the Joint Afro-Arab Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture and Food Security, and the offer by the Arab Republic of Egypt to host the said Ministerial Meeting by December 2009;
8. REQUESTS the Chairperson of the Commission and the Secretary General of LAS to carry out consultations with a view to finding ways and means to effectively and expeditiously implement all pending decisions on Afro-Arab Cooperation taken by the Policy Organs of AU and LAS;
9. ALSO REQUESTS the Commission to follow up on the implementation of this Decision and to report to the Ordinary Session of the Executive Council in June/July 2010.