Council of Arab Economic Unity

The Council of Arab Economic Unity is a trade bloc established by the Arab League to promote economic integration among Arab states. Its founding Economic Unity Agreement was approved on June 3, 1957, and the Council itself was established on May 30, 1964. It has 18 full members, including Algeria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Tunisia, Morocco, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Libya, Sudan, Palestine and Yemen, plus four candidate members, Comoros, Djibouti, Mauritania and Somalia. Its stated purpose is to organize and consolidate economic relations among Arab League states, and its best known initiative is the Greater Arab Free Trade Area, established in 1997 and operating since 2005 to eliminate customs duties on trade among Arab states. Its administrative center is in Cairo.