(Riyadh) – Arab leaders have pledged to remove obstacles to finalising a free trade zone this year and agreed to facilitate capital flows, as they wrapped up an economic summit in Riyadh. “We stress our determination to complete all the prerequisites of (forming) the free trade area before the end of this year,” Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi said at the end of the third Arab Economic and Social Summit.
The leaders, he added, were determined to clear obstacles to “achieve the Arab customs union fully by 2015.” Saudi Finance Minister Ibrahim al-Assaf said officials working to facilitate a customs union were struggling to sort out rules on the origin of goods.
