Sheikh Jaber al-Mubarak al-Hamad al-Sabah Kuwait - Arab Today The Arab-Africa Economic Forum will kick off here on Monday under the patronage of His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber al-Mubarak al-Hamad al-Sabah. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Sheikh Salem Abdulaziz Saud Al-Sabah will represent His Highness the Prime Minister in the opening of the two-day forum which comes ahead of the 3rd Arab-African Summit due here on November 19-20. The forum, organised by the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) in cooperation with the Arab League and the African Union Commission and with the participation of public and private sector organisations, regional and international institutions, aims to discuss the Arab-African partnership and topics related to economic development in the two regions, in addition to shedding light on the reality of Afro-Arab cooperation. The opening session will include a speech by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, and another by Deputy Secretary General of the Arab League Ambassador Ahmed Ben Helli and Chief of Staff of the African Union Commission (AUC) Ambassador Jean-Baptiste Natama. The first working session will examine the Afro-Arab cooperation in the field of development. It will be headed by Natama and will see participation of Chairman and Director-General of the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development Abdullatif Al-Hamad and president of the African Development Bank Group, Dr. Donald Kaberuka. The second working session will be headed by Chairman of the Islamic Development Bank Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali which will deal with cooperation between the Arab and Afro development actors in the areas of infrastructure and exchange of experiences. Director General of the OPEC Fund for International Development Suleiman Al-Herbish will deliver a speech. The third working session will tackle policies, laws and investment procedures in African countries and will headed by former Kuwaiti Finance Minister Bader Al-Humaidhi. The fourth session will tackle Arab-African investments and will be headed by the AU Commissioner for Economic Affairs Dr. Anthony matte. The session will include three lectures on prospects for investment cooperation between the Arabs and Africa, investment opportunities in Africa and the institutional framework for investment guarantees in the Arab and African regions. Source: KUNA