Saudi Finance Minister Dr. Ibrahim bin Abdulaziz Al- Assaf, who is the chairman of the current session of Arab Economic and Social Council, asserted that the agenda of the session included a number of economic issues that concern the economic development in the Arab world. In a press conference following the end of the 82nd session of the Arab Economic and Social Council, the head of the delegation of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the session Dr. Al-Assaf said that the most prominent topics discussed by Arabs Finance Ministers were the preparations for the convening of the Arab economic summit in Kuwait in January. He also said that the ministers focused on the developments of the great Arab free trade zone, adding that Arab ministers discussed a number of reports of the ministerial councils and specialized organizations. Regarding the activation of economic cooperation, Dr. Al Assaf said that the Arab leaders are always supporting Arab efforts to promote joint economic cooperation and giving priority to such cooperation. Regarding the reasons for reluctance by some countries to adopt the resolution on the establishment of an Arab satellite system for earth observation, Dr. Al-Assaf attributed this to the non-feasibility of establishing such a satellite system saying that there are alternatives for this task.
