./.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/L/516
23 May 2003
(03-2763)
Original:  English
JOINT MEETING OF ARAB MINISTERS OF TRADE AND FINANCE AND
ARAB CENTRAL BANK GOVERNORS
Abu Dhabi
23 April 2003
Communication from United Arab Emirates
The following communication, dated 7 May, has been received by the Director-General from
the Minister of Economy and Commerce, United Arab Emirates, with the request that it be circulatedto Members.
_______________
Please find enclosed the communiqué made by the Arab Ministers of Trade and Finance and
Arab Central Bank Governors in their joint meeting which was held on Wednesday, 23 April 2003 in
Abu Dhabi for your kind perusal and circulation among the countries, Members of the WTO.
_______________
Communiqué
Under the auspices of Sheikh Hamdan B. Rashid Al-Maktoum, deputy ruler of Dubai,
Minister of Finance and Industry and Sheikh Fahi m B. Sultan Al-Qassimi, Minister of Economy and
Commerce of the United Arab Emirates, Trade a nd Finance ministers and Central Bank Governors
from 19 country members of the Arab Monetary Fund met in Abu Dhabi, on Wednesday 23 April
2003, in the presence and participation of Dr. Supachai Panitchpakdi, Director General of the World
Trade Organization, Dr. Jassim Al-Mannai, Director General of the Arab Monetary Fund, and senior
representatives from the World Bank and the WTO, on the occasion of the Annual Meetings of theArab Financial Institutions to discuss trade integrat ion into national development strategies and plans
of Arab countries.
The purpose of the meeting is to engage a dialogue between Finance and Trade policy makers
in the Arab region to explore effective integration of trade and development policies, the potentialbenefits of the Doha Development Agenda to support trade reform and complementary policy
measures and the responsibility of mu ltilateral and regional development institutions for the delivery
of coherent trade-related technical assistance and capacity building embedded into the development
strategy of every beneficiary country in the region.
Ministers affirmed that their countries share the goal of fostering economic growth and
raising employment in the Arab region through trade and investment climate improvements.  ThisWT/L/516
Page 2
goal is critical for all the countries in the region to reverse the historical declining economic growth,
the loss in world market share of the region's trade and the low levels of foreign direct investment
(FDI) inflows into the region.  To this end, Ministers emphasized the importance of improving
consultation and coordination at the national level, in particular among relevant government
Ministries, the private sector and civil society to develop a good understanding of where nationalinterests lie.
Ministers discussed the key development challenges facing their countries in benefiting from
a successful completion of the negotiations of the Doha Development Agenda.  In this regard,
Ministers called for a more proactive role of Arab countries members in the WTO and noted the need
for the large players in WTO to support the succes sful completion of the Doha trade negotiations as
failure would jeopardize the potential for fostering Arab countries' GDP growth and reducingunemployment. Ministers called for enhanced access of their exports in the rich country markets and
the adoption of more effective Special and Differential treatment provisions in the WTO so as to
address implementation difficulties and reflect national capacity constraints.  Ministers noted that if
the Doha Round is to be successful in improving market access, negotiating modalities that aim for
achieving greater liberalization in agriculture should be adopted soon and that tangible progress isneeded in reducing barriers to the temporary entry of services suppliers in developed country markets.
They also pointed to the need for careful sequencing of reductions in tariff levels by Arab states to
protect reasonably their domestic industries to manage customs revenue impacts.
Ministers express concerns regarding the seven Arab countries waiting to acquire full
membership of WTO and call on the WTO Members to speed up the process and conclude their
accession in order to enable them to actively participate in the Doha Round.
Ministers took stock of the international and regional institutions' contributions for the
delivery of trade-related capacity building and technical assistance to the Arab region.  They calledfor increased efforts to identify priorities they called for increased through diagnostic studies and
assess the potential impacts of policy changes and WTO new disciplines on Arab economies, as well
as technical assistance relating to the pursuit of trad e negotiations as crucial activities to enhance the
participation of Arab countries in the WTO.  They  invited regional institutions to identify additional
self-generated, home-grown avenues to enhance trade capacity in the Arab countries with the
objective to strengthen trade-related institutions, increase training, and integrate trade-related
priorities more fully into national development plans.
Finally, Ministers welcome and support the initiative of the WTO in dealing with Arab
Member and observer countries as a group and in establishing a Unit dedicated to the Arab and
Middle East countries to provide support and services to this group.
Ministers express their appreciation to Dr. Jassim Al-Mannai for hosting this first joint
meeting of Trade and Finance ministers of Arab countries.  They agree to continue this trade policy
dialogue and to consider concrete proposals to bolster regional trade analysis and negotiating capacity
on the occasion of the Annual Meetings of the World Bank and the IMF, to be held in Dubai, in
September 2003.
__________