The Chairman of the Commission of the African Union, Prof. Alpha Oumar Konare, made the call in a message he sent through the Deputy Chairperson of the Commission, Patrick Mazimhaka to the 6th Afro-Arab Trade Fair going on in Dares Salaam.
“In the face of the new challenges confronting us”, he declared, “we need to close ranks, open commercial and trade links between our two regions for the marketing, circulation and free movement of goods and for sustainable economies and services across our common borders”.
Konare urged the African and Arab sides to strengthen co-operation as a means of building and enhancing international negotiating capacities of both parties. To this end he suggested the establishment of private sector consultative for a to hold regular dialogue for co-ordination of efforts among professionals, entrepreneurs and business people in the Afro-Arab world.
Recalling the historical bond, the longstanding cultural heritage and the geographical proximity of the two sides, he called for the translation of these vast opportunities and potentials into practical advantages, particularly, in the field of building networks of information, communication and transport systems.
Declaring the Fair open, the President of Zanzibar, Amani Abeid Karume, stated that it was time to further cement the multilateral co-operation already existing between African and the Arab world through investment and tourism promotion.
“Africa and the Arab World” he noted, “represented one rich bloc in terms of population, exploitation of natural resources and cultural diversity, hence we should work together as a means of maximizing our economies and creating wealth in our countries”, adding that “Africans and Arabs should extend solidarity with other developing countries, such as Asia and Latin American nations, in pursuit of their common objectives and interests”.
Meanwhile, the ongoing Afro-Arab Trade Fair took a new dimension on Monday with the opening of the Investors Forum aimed at identifying possible investors and business partners within African and the Arab States.
The Chief Minister drew distinction between the African Union and the NEPAD citing remarks by the Ethiopian Prime Minister, Meles Zanawi when he stated that the African Union was the vehicle for overcoming the challenges of Africa and for solving the multi-faceted socio-economic problems of the continent, while defining “the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) as the mechanism for implementing the objectives of the African Union”.
Dr. Ngasongwa stated that in the face of profit-motive driven Globalization, Africans and Arabs must cooperate in order to benefit from trade and investments in respect of south-south cooperation. “Such collaboration”, he noted, “must be built on a stable and attractive investment environment which fights corruption relentlessly and must produce a critical mass of competitive manpower”.
The Forum highlighted the need to establish institutional mechanisms for co-operation through opening Trade and Business Chambers in Afro-Arab countries and fostering bi-regional integration through financing and supporting small- and medium-scale agricultural and co-operative ventures which are nearer the grassroots.
The Forum drew participants from Tanzanian institutions, the Arab League, and the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), the African Union and the African Export and Import (AFREXIM) Bank located in Cairo, Egypt.