The Council of Arab Economic Unity (CAEU) (Arabic: مجلس الوحدة الاقتصادية العربية) was founded by

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

Mauritania Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, ...

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

and

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

on May 30, 1964, following an agreement in 1957 by the Economic Council of the Arab League.

Objectives

According to The Economic Unity Agreement approved on June 3, 1957, the Council of Arab Economic Unity desires to "Organize and consolidate economic relations among the States of the Arab League on bases that are consistent with the natural and historical links among them; and to provide the best conditions for flourishing their economies, developing their resources and ensuring the prosperity of their countries." The bases of economic relations between states in the Council of Arab Economic Unity are outlined in Chapter 1, Articles 1 and 2 of The Economic Unity Agreement: Article 1 Article 1 delineates each member state's rights to: # Personal and capital mobility # Free exchange of goods and products # Exercise of residence and economic endeavors (work, employment, etc.) # Transit and use of ports and airports # Possession and inheritance Article 2 Article 2 behoves the signatories of The Economic Unity Agreement to work towards the objectives specified in Article 1 by: # Merging into a unified customs area # Unifying their import and export policies # Unifying their regulations with regard to transit # Jointly negotiating agreements with other states # Unifying and coordinating legislation to achieve equal conditions of agriculture, industry and trade among member states # Coordinating legislation with regard to labor and social security # (a) Coordinating "government and municipal taxes and duties and all taxes pertaining to agriculture, industry, trade, real estate, and capital investments" to achieve equivalent business climates among member states; (b) Avoiding double-taxing nationals of member states # Coordinating monetary and fiscal policies # Unifying "statistical methods of classification and tabulations" # Adopting any other measures consistent with the stated objectives of Articles 1 and 2

Agadir Agreement

"The Agadir Agreement" for the establishment of a free trade zone between the Arab Mediterranean Nations was signed in

Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ) is the Capital (political), capital city of Morocco and the List of cities in Morocco, country's seventh-largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan population of over 1.2 million. ...

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

on 25 February 2004. The agreement aimed at establishing free trade between

and

which was seen as a first potential step in the formation of the Euro-Mediterranean free trade area as envisaged in the Barcelona Process. The Agreement aims to establish a Free Trade Area among the member states, in addition to increase intra-trade on one hand and with the European Union on the other. It also aims to enhance industrial integration among the Arab Mediterranean countries through the Implementation of the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean rules of origin and the utilization of the principle of cumulation of origin. This will enhance the member states’ export capacity towards the EU market and boost attraction for more foreign and European direct investment. In 2016, the membership of

and

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

was approved at the third meeting of Agadir member ministers.

Greater Arab Free Trade Area

The Greater Arab Free Trade Area (GAFTA) is a pan-Arab free trade zone that came into existence on 19 February 1997. It was founded by 14 countries:

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

, and the

.Afifi, Tamer Mohamed Ahmed (2007:19): The Challenge of Implementing the Overlapping Regional Trade Agreements in

, Cuvillier Verlag, Goettingen. The formation of GAFTA followed the adoption of the "Agreement to Facilitate and Develop Trade Among Arab Countries" (1981) by the Arab League's Economic and Social Council (ESC) and the approval by seventeen Arab League member-states at a summit in

Amman Amman ( , ; , ) is the capital and the largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of four million as of 2021, Amman is Jordan's primate city and is the largest city in the Levant ...

of the "Greater Arab Free Trade Area Agreement" (1997). In 2009,

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

joined GAFTA as the eighteenth member-state. GAFTA is supervised and run by the ESC. The members participate in 96% of the total internal

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

trade, and 95% with the rest of the world by applying the following conditions: #Instruct the inter-customs fees: #:To reduce the customs on Arab products by 10% annually, the 14 Arab states reported their custom tariff programs to the Security Council of the Arab League to coordinate them.

was excepted and uses the Brussels tariffs system. #Applying the locality of the Arab products: #:All members have shared their standards and specifications to help their products move smoothly from one country to another. #:The League has also created a project to apply the Arab

Agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

Pact: #:Which is to share the standards of the agricultural sector and inject several restrictions and specifications. #:The Arab League granted exceptions, which allowed for a customs rate for certain goods to six members for several goods, however requests for additional exceptions were rejected by

and

. #Private sectors: #:The League created a database and a service to inform and promote the private sector's benefits. #Communication: #:The Economic and Social Council in its sixty-fifth meeting agreed on pointing a base for communication to ease communication between member states, and to work on easing interaction between the private and public sectors to further apply the Greater Arab Free Trade Area. #Customs Duties: #:In the sixty-seventh meeting the Economic and Social Council agreed that a 40% decrease on customs on goods in the past 4 years of the GAFTA would continue and following the decisions at the Amman summit, the members will make efforts to eliminate all customs duties on local goods.

References

External links

*http://www.amf.org.ae/ *https://web.archive.org/web/20080506173842/http://www.arableagueonline.org/las/arabic/details_ar.jsp?art_id=124&level_id=110 {{DEFAULTSORT:Council Of Arab Economic Unity Pan-Arab organizations Organizations established in 1964 Arab League Economy of the Arab League International economic organizations International organizations based in the Middle East Trade blocs Treaties concluded in 1957 Treaties entered into force in 1964 1964 in economic history

Objectives

Agadir Agreement

Greater Arab Free Trade Area

See also

References

External links