CAIRO, 29 October — Dr. Saleh ibn Humaid, president of the Shoura Council, yesterday accused Western countries of double standard, saying they call for democracy on the one hand and support autocrats and oppressive regimes on the other.
Presenting a paper at the first conference of the Arab Thought Foundation, the Saudi official said developed countries were driven by vested interests and ambitions. "These countries falsely claim that they support the developing countries to achieve progress and stability," the Shoura chief said presenting a paper on "Shoura and democracy: A modern viewpoint."
He said some countries, which call themselves as the citadel of freedom, democracy and human rights, violate these slogans by supporting autocratic and oppressive regimes and triggering conflicts and coupes.
Humaid said Shoura in Islam was meant by exchange of views by experts to take the right decision. He explained the differences between Shoura and Western democracy. "Shoura is a form of public participation in governance," he pointed out.
He said the Shoura Council in the Kingdom studies all rules and regulations, monitors performances of government departments and discusses state plans.
Earlier Hazem al-Beblawi, an Egyptian university professor and consultant for the International Monetary Fund, said the lack of political unity among Arab countries will have a serious knock-on effect on their economies.
"There is an Arab nation, a culture and a common history, but there is no Arab economy, only entities which are not linked economically," he told the conference.
Trade between Arab states amounts to only eight percent of the total volume of business in the Arab world, he said.
"There is no agreement among those who control the political destinies of these countries on the fact that economic integration is useful to the Arab nation," he said.
However, he stressed Arab countries would have to accept the political costs for improving their economic cooperation, including relaxing control over borders.
Ahmad Juweili, head of the Arab Economic Council, linked to the Arab League, agreed that political factors and instability were major factors in making the region one of the least economically integrated in the world.
But he also said weaknesses in the private sector were to blame, citing a lack of will for European Union-style integration. He noted that a 1996 decision at a Cairo summit to forge ahead with a regional free trade zone by 2007 is actually a project that has been "left sitting in the drawer since 1981."
The Arab world attracts less than one percent of international investments, oil represents 70 percent of Arab exports, and the region imports almost all its other needs.
