A GROUP of Arab states have announced a plan to form a free-trade zone in order to be better placed to face the challenges of globalisation. The decision, contained in an official statement published after a meeting of representatives of 10 Arab-Mediterranean nations and the Palestinian Authority, expands on an earlier idea for Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and Jordan to form a common market. At Tuesday’s meeting in the Moroccan capital Rabat, the foreign ministers from those four countries were joined by their counterparts from Algeria, Libya, Mauritania and Tunisia as well as representatives from Syria, Lebanon and the Palestinian Authority. No dates were fixed for the new regional grouping to start functioning. Morocco’s Foreign Minister Mohamed Benaissa called on his fellow Arab states to “fight the challenges of globalisation,” especially in view of the planned creation in 2010 of a Euro-Mediterranean free-trade zone. – AFP
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