In his speech before the 11th Developing Eight Organization for Economic Cooperation (D-8) Summit, Arab League (AL) Secretary General Ahmed Abul Gheit said the world's current challenges pose a serious obstacle to achieving comprehensive and sustainable development.

Abul Gheit added the summit is convened at a delicate time, amid uncertainties about the future as a result of the acceleration of events and growing challenges witnessed by the world at an unprecedented pace.

He went on to say that the ongoing crises emphasize the necessity of achieving close cooperation and coordination among countries with similar potential and aspirations to formulate practical policies that keep pace with the requirements of the current era and help bring about the required development.

The AL chief stated the D-8 organization presents a successful model of cooperation among developing nations that face common economic and social challenges, expressing hope for developing mechanisms to advance joint development work among the group's member states on the one hand, and with Arab countries and other developing countries on the other hand.

Abul Gheit said transformations in the global economy, particularly in light of geopolitical uncertainty and escalating competition between major powers, are pushing the world into trade wars and the adoption of protectionist policies.

In this regard, the AL secretary general called on developing countries to face this reality with adopting meaningful integration policies in order to preserve the gains achieved by lifting millions in these countries out of extreme poverty over the past decades. (MENA)

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