The Africa-Arab summit and the Kuwait Declaration

The 3rd edition of the Africa-Arab summit which assembled most of the heads of states of the different countries from the two continents has ended in Kuwait. The summit gear’s towards building solid economic relations between them. The highlight of this year edition is the signing of the Kuwait Declaration. The host of the summit, His Highness Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, has promised a million worth of investment in Africa.
The implementation of development projects and programs was a key issue at the summit. Participants have urged for the necessity of a “work team” to oversee projects after several setbacks in implementing projects. The African Union and the Arab League have been asked to collaborate with financial institutions in this aspect. They also underscored the need to strengthen cooperation in the areas of trade, investment, transport, communication and energy, and urged member states to provide all the necessary financial and technical support for the implementation of the proposed activities.
The Kuwait declaration calls for an increase in all forms of cooperation but emphasizes on the economic domain. The fight against terrorism in all its forms and transnational crime is also part of the declaration. The development of new and renewable energy sources through joint scientific research programs to make it more reliable and affordable in order to boost investment was underlined. To ease the financing and technical assistance of projects, a joint Africa-Arab Financing Mechanism will be set up.
A review of the Africa-Arab Partnership Strategy and the Joint Action Plan 2011-2016 were made. Plans to make it more dynamic were outlined. A study will also be made by the Coordination Committee to define means of reviving and strengthening the partnership.
The last summit was held in Libya three years ago.