21 May 2010
Beirut -- Prince Turki Al-Faisal, President of King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies, called here today for the establishment of an Arab Common Market and called on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, given its financial leverage and considerable domestic gross product, to become the main engine for this market.
Speaking at the second working session of the Arab Economic Forum in Beirut, he stressed on his call for the market, citing GCC, EU, ASIAN's markets as examples.
He said Saudi Arabia's financial and economic weight makes it qualified to become the core of this market, citing the fact that its Domestic Gross Product represents more than a quarter of the entire Arab world's DGP.
On the other side, he calls on the Arab countries to mount enough pressure on the United Nations Security Council's permanent members to make the Middle East a nuclear free area and stop the nuclear race between Iran and Israel.
He suggested three scenarios for dealing with Iran and Israel as the only two nuclear powers in our region: either not to do anything towards the two nuclear projects or to start arming ourselves, including all of us, with nuclear arms or continue our call to make the region nuclear free from mass destruction weapons.
He lauded the recent announcement of the UN permanent representatives to support the call for making the ME nuclear free, calling on the Arab countries to mount double pressure to make this gesture a reality.
He called for strict coordination of Arab positions and maneuvers to make the Arab demands a success.
On relations between Israel and the U.S., he called on the Follow-up Committee of the Arab League to hold a meeting to author and forward common views to the U.S. Administration that could include Dr. James Zughbi's suggestion to hold direct negotiations between Syria, Lebanon and Palestine on one side and Israel on the other.
In this regard, he stressed that this meeting should coincide with indirect negotiations between the remaining Arab countries on one side and Israeli on the other, so that Israel could not get benefit from any individual Arab country before it fulfills the final agreements with the collective party of Syria, Lebanon and Palestine.
He called on the Arab League's Follow-up Committee to forge the detailed plans for this scenario coinciding with a world-wide media campaign aiming at curbing and putting an end to the Israeli arrogance.
Beirut -- Prince Turki Al-Faisal, President of King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies, called here today for the establishment of an Arab Common Market and called on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, given its financial leverage and considerable domestic gross product, to become the main engine for this market.
Speaking at the second working session of the Arab Economic Forum in Beirut, he stressed on his call for the market, citing GCC, EU, ASIAN's markets as examples.
He said Saudi Arabia's financial and economic weight makes it qualified to become the core of this market, citing the fact that its Domestic Gross Product represents more than a quarter of the entire Arab world's DGP.
On the other side, he calls on the Arab countries to mount enough pressure on the United Nations Security Council's permanent members to make the Middle East a nuclear free area and stop the nuclear race between Iran and Israel.
He suggested three scenarios for dealing with Iran and Israel as the only two nuclear powers in our region: either not to do anything towards the two nuclear projects or to start arming ourselves, including all of us, with nuclear arms or continue our call to make the region nuclear free from mass destruction weapons.
He lauded the recent announcement of the UN permanent representatives to support the call for making the ME nuclear free, calling on the Arab countries to mount double pressure to make this gesture a reality.
He called for strict coordination of Arab positions and maneuvers to make the Arab demands a success.
On relations between Israel and the U.S., he called on the Follow-up Committee of the Arab League to hold a meeting to author and forward common views to the U.S. Administration that could include Dr. James Zughbi's suggestion to hold direct negotiations between Syria, Lebanon and Palestine on one side and Israel on the other.
In this regard, he stressed that this meeting should coincide with indirect negotiations between the remaining Arab countries on one side and Israeli on the other, so that Israel could not get benefit from any individual Arab country before it fulfills the final agreements with the collective party of Syria, Lebanon and Palestine.
He called on the Arab League's Follow-up Committee to forge the detailed plans for this scenario coinciding with a world-wide media campaign aiming at curbing and putting an end to the Israeli arrogance.
© Saudi Press Agency 2010
