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Arab nations slow to join global economy

UNITED NATIONS The Arab world is moving very slowly to become a part of the global economy, lagging well behind other regions in its share of world trade, computer usage and tourism, a UN panel said on Thursday.

While Arab nations account for 4.7 per cent of the world population, their economies account for just two per cent of global goods and services, 3.2 per cent of world exports and 1.4 per cent of total imports, the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia said.
While there are some five million personal computers in Arab countries, that represents a mere one per cent of the world total, the commission said in its annual review of globalisation and regional integration.

The figures in the report were mostly for 2001, the latest year for which data was available in most categories, the report"s authors said.
While some 33 million tourists visited Arab countries during 2001, accounting for 4.8 per cent of tourists throughout the world, the number visiting from outside the region fell sharply following the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, said commission senior economist Nazem Abdalla.
But at the same time, there was an increase in regional tourism, Abdalla said. The number of tourists from the Gulf region visiting Lebanon, for example, gave Lebanon its best year ever for tourism in 2002, he said.

Arab states are working hard to increase their share of world trade, lining up to join the World Trade Organisation and concluding trade agreements with Western partners, the commission said.
Eleven Arab states have joined the 144-nation WTO and five others are in the process of joining, according to the report.
But trade between Arab states has been hindered by a number of factors, including that demand for oil and gas, which account for most of the region"s exports, comes mainly from non-Arab countries, the commission said. It recommended that Arab nations quickly begin bringing down barriers to free trade, foster the creation of large privately owned transnational corporations, set up links between stock markets across the Arab world and establish a regional bank to finance regional development.