Inter Arab Trade” no longer a joke

Arab political unity, from being a mantra in the 1950s,has turned into a joke, and today the Arab world’s 22″sister” countries regularly bicker in an endless politicaltragic-comedy. Politically, fragmentation of the Arab worldis clear, but what about economics? The same lack ofintegration had been true in the late 20th century of Arabeconomies as it was of states themselves, but couldintra-Arab business now be reversing that? It used to be thecase that Arab states traded little with each other, butthat is starting to change, thanks in part to the Arab FreeTrade Area (AFTA). AFTA was launched in 1997, and seventeencountries are now part of it (with Mauritania, Djibouti,Somalia, the Comoros, and Algeria still outside) accountingfor 96% of the total intra-Arab trade. The agreement aims toabolish tariffs and other barriers to intra-Arab commerce,and the goal of duty-free merchandise trade among members isnow close. Partly thanks to AFTA, trade among Arab states has