A meeting for the launch of the knowledge-sharing programme of the Arab Common Market for Electricity kicked off at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo on Monday.
Qatar's delegation to the two-day meeting was headed by HE the President of the Qatar General Electricity and Water Corp (Kahramaa) Eng Essa bin Hilal al-Kuwari.
The meeting was organised by the Secretariat General of the Arab League in co-operation with the World Bank and the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development.
In his opening speech, Assistant Secretary-General and Head of the Economic Affairs sector in the Arab League Dr Ali bin Ibrahim al-Malki said this was an introductory meeting to launch a new work phase for the establishment of the Arab Common Market for Electricity.
He stressed that regional electricity trade exchange is an effective force to achieve integration among Arab markets, leading to sustainable development that in turn will contribute to the economic prosperity of the Arab region. He also emphasised the need for more cross-border investment to increase trade opportunities among Arab countries whose electricity production costs vary, for countries to benefit from the integration of electricity networks, and the most important of which are economic benefits and cost savings. This can come through co-ordinating national expansion plans, and increasing electricity regularity rates due to the increased optimisation of reserve capacities, and through resilience in the face of crises, by sharing resources. (QNA)
