The 118th session of the Economic and Social Council of the League of Arab States commenced on Wednesday in Kuwait, convening senior officials under the presidency of Saudi Arabia. The meeting serves as a preparatory stage for the ministerial session scheduled for Thursday.
In his opening remarks, Ambassador Dr. Ali Al-Maliki, Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Affairs at the League of Arab States, expressed confidence in Saudi Arabia’s commitment to advancing the Council’s agenda during its current presidency. This includes ensuring the effective follow-up and implementation of the Council’s resolutions to strengthen cooperative Arab action across economic and social sectors. The current session’s presidency also expressed gratitude toward Algeria for its efforts during the previous term.
Dr. Al-Maliki highlighted ongoing activities within the League, including continued meetings of several committees: the Implementation and Follow-up Committee, the Technical Committee for Rules of Origin, and the Arab Customs Union Committee. Progress has also been made regarding agreements related to customs cooperation and transit transport regulations. Workshops, organized jointly with chambers of commerce, were conducted to promote the benefits of Arab trade agreements and to enhance intra-Arab trade by expanding market access.
The League received a guidance paper from the Permanent Delegation of Palestine outlining priorities related to capacity building and economic aid, aligning with the Council’s responsibility to report on the Palestinian economic situation, reconstruction efforts, and impacts stemming from occupation policies.
Dr. Al-Maliki noted the adoption of draft issues to be presented in a unified Arab position during the 2026 meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. These were finalized at a workshop organized by the Arab Monetary Fund in the United Arab Emirates last July.
The session emphasized the strategic importance of artificial intelligence as a driver of economic and social transformation. The Arab Council for Communications and Information established a specialized committee in January focused on AI and its applications. Additionally, reports were received concerning food security and the implementation of several Arab strategies, including the Arab Program for Sustainable Food Security, the Arab Sustainable Agricultural Development Strategy 2020-2030, and the Arab Strategy for Water Management.
Regarding coordination with specialized Arab institutions, Dr. Al-Maliki reaffirmed the League’s commitment to active participation in their general assemblies and executive councils. The League also seeks to clarify unified statutes and Council resolutions as the authoritative national references for joint Arab organizations.
Kuwait’s delegation to the session was led by Saad Al Alati, Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance for Technical Services Affairs.