The 40th meeting of the implementation and follow-up commission of the Economic and Social Council of the Arab League (AL) kicked off Monday at the AL headquarters in Cairo.

The meeting is chaired by Iraq's representative Hashem Mohamed Hatem and gathers representatives of the Arab countries' trade and industry ministries.

The three-day meeting will follow up measures taken to implement the Greater Arab Free Trade Area (GAFTA) and discuss a Saudi proposal in this regard, Hatem said.

A comprehensive report will be presented to the Arab Summit, slated for March in Morocco, including all measures achieved to launch the GAFTA, he added.

Another recommendations reports will be presented to the 97th session of the Economic and Social Council, slated for March.

GAFTA was declared within the Social and Economic Council of the Arab League as an executive program to activate the Trade Facilitation and Development Agreement that has been in force since January 1st, 1998.

The GAFTA includes in its membership 17 Arab countries: Egypt, Bahrain, Libya, Sudan, Morocco, Syria, Iraq, Oman, Tunisia, Jordan, Palestine, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Yemen, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia.