Minister of International Cooperation: Constitutional Procedures initiated for Egypt's accession to the Arab Court of Arbitration Agreement
Dr. Rania Al Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation, affirmed that the establishment of the Arab Court of Arbitration, based in Cairo, is a manifestation of joint Arab action and will enhance the movement of trade, economy, and investment among Arab countries.
This came on the sidelines of Egypt's hosting of the annual meetings of Arab financial institutions and organizations in the New Administrative Capital on May 22 and 23, under the patronage of His Excellency President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President of the Republic of Egypt, and the presence of Mr. Dr. Mustafa Madbouly, the Prime Minister. The meetings were organized by the Arab Monetary Fund in cooperation with the Ministry of International Cooperation, in addition to the convening of the 59th meeting of the specialized Arab federations operating under the Council of Arab Economic Unity in Cairo.
Dr. Rania Al Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation and Permanent Representative of the Arab Republic of Egypt to the Council of Arab Economic Unity, stated that Egypt has initiated the constitutional procedures necessary to join the Arab Court of Arbitration Agreement. This comes in line with the directives of His Excellency President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to support all aspects of joint Arab action, including the Arab Court of Arbitration. In addition, Egypt is working to enhance coordination with the delegations of member states of the Council of Arab Economic Unity to join the Arab Court of Arbitration Agreement in a way that strengthens economic integration among countries and encourages trade and investment flows.
The Ministry of International Cooperation completed the handover ceremony of its old headquarter in downtown Cairo to the Arab Court of Arbitration to serve as a temporary headquarter until the permanent headquarter of the Court in the Justice City in the New Administrative Capital is ready. This comes in implementation of the directives of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, and the decision of the Cabinet.
This came after the success of the efforts made by the Egyptian government through the Ministry of International Cooperation - the Permanent Representative of the Arab Republic of Egypt to the Council of the Arab Economic Unity - and in coordination with the Council, to establish the Arab Court of Arbitration, within the framework of the Council's tasks to achieve Arab economic integration, and in implementation of the provisions of the Agreement on Arab Economic Unity among the Arab League countries, and based on the objectives of the Council to create a permanent and independent Arab arbitration body that takes its place among international and regional arbitration systems.
The decision of the founding General Assembly of the Court was issued on September 15, 2020, approving the Court's statute (based in Cairo) and electing the Board of Trustees of the Court under the chairmanship of Counselor Abdel Wahab Abdel Razek (the Egyptian Senate’s President and former President of the Constitutional Court), and electing the Court's Board of Directors. Then, in June 2021, the Council of the Arab Economic Unity (CAEU) at the ministerial level in its 111th session approved the accession of the Arab Arbitration Court to operate within the scope of the Council as an independent Arab body.
It is worth mentioning that the Council of the Arab Economic Unity had issued a decision in its 116th session in December last year, approving the Arab Arbitration Court Agreement, and expressed thanks and appreciation to Mr. Counselor Hamdi Abu Zaid, Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Arab Arbitration Court, who proposed and prepared the draft agreement.
In addition to the role of the court in settling disputes through arbitration and developing arbitration fields, it will provide many services, including: administering arbitration at the local and international levels to settle commercial, economic, and investment disputes, establishing an academy to train and qualify international arbitrators, raising the level of international commercial arbitration in the region, establishing a training center to hold training courses in arbitration, legal and technical specialized fields, drafting contracts of all kinds, settling disputes through mediation, and other services including organizing local and international conferences and seminars in the field of arbitration.