MOVING AHEAD FROM DOHA TO CANCÚN: THE WTO DISCUSSIONS IN THE ARAB COUNTRIES PETER FUCHS While it is true that the Arab countries are often the subject of reports in the international media, the region very seldom plays a role when the is­sue concerned is international trade policy or the ongoing WTO World Trade Round. In the Arab countries themselves there is seldom an opportu­nity to engage in an intensive and transboundary dialogue on issues bound up with world trade. Organized by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation(FES) and the Egyptian Center for Economic and Finan­cial Research and Studies(CEFRS, University of Cairo), the seminar"Moving Ahead from Doha to Cancun; Discussion of the Arab Countries' Position," held from 24 – 25 May 2003 in Cairo, offered such a rare occasion for an exchange of views between representatives of governments, research institutions, international organizations (WTO, Arab League), as well as some labor un­ions and NGOs. The participants included representatives from Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia, and Sudan. The present situation: Arab countries in the developing international trade and investment regime According to UN information, the Arab world's share in both international trade and interna ­tional investment flows is relatively low(see An­nex Table 1). In 2000 the Arab share in world trade was 2.6% (exports 3.2%; imports 1.4%), with mineral oil exports accounting for a total of 70% of overall Arab exports(ESCWA 2002). In the late 1990s a large number of Arab coun­tries embarked on an accelerated course of eco­nomic reforms. These included liberalization of trade and investment and implementation of regional and multilateral trade agreements. On factor of significance in the region's cooperation with Europe is the so-called Barcelona Process. The Euro-Mediterranean conference of foreign ministers held in Barcelona in November 1995 adopted a Euro-Mediterranean Partnership bet­ween the 15 EU member states and twelve states of the southern Mediterranean region: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, the Palesti­nian Autonomy areas, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Cyprus, and Malta(in the meantime Libya is also attending the meetings as a guest of the EU Council Presidency). Agreement was reached on cooperation in three fields: 1. political and secu­rity issues, 2. economic, financial, and trade coope ration, and 3. social and cultural coopera ­tion. Creation of a Euro-Mediterranean free-trade area as an"area of peace and stability" is envisa ­ged by the year 2010. Other agreements relevant to liberalization of foreign-trade policies in the Arab world include