What does ACM stand for?

Aa "The summit recommended as well the facilitation of Arab labor movement between Arab countries and the establishment of an Arab tariff zone before 2015 in addition to an Arab common market before the beginning of 2020," he added.

Speakers at the event called for speeding up the process towards an Arab common market through the direct support of business and economic organisations in Arab countries.

Byline: Arab News WITH Gaza still smoldering, bodies still being pulled out of the rubble, Israeli troops still there and the cease-fire far from certain, many in the Arab world and beyond can be forgiven if they have initial difficulties understanding why Arab leaders are meeting at present in Kuwait to discuss economic issues and wonder whether this is the moment to discuss plans for an Arab free-trade area by 2015 and an Arab common market by 2020.

On the table will be a number of ambitious mega projects such as an Arab power grid, a railway, an Arab common market, a unified customs tariffs system, as well as food security and coping with the brain drain.

The union will pave the way to set up an Arab common market in 2020.

To this end it has established the Arab Common Market, the Arab Financial Organisation and telecommunication and postal unions.

Apart from the full implementation of the Gulf Arab Free Trade Zone (GAFTZ), the strategy also aims at establishing the Arab Union by 2015, and then the Arab Common Market in 2020.

We do hope that the setting up of the GCC common market will speed up emergence of the Arab common market.