DEAD SEA, Jordan, May 21: European Union Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson said on Saturday he wanted to begin discussions with Arab countries on freeing trade in services as part of moves to make the region a more robust economy. Speaking at a World Economic Forum meeting in Jordan, Mandelson said that although the EU was the major trading partner for the region, trading patterns were weak.

“The countries of the Middle East and North Africa together have few non-oil exports than a country like Hungary,” he said. He added that foreign direct investment and trade flows from the EU were also small.

Mandelson said he planned to ask EU member states for a mandate to start negotiations. He said other steps needed to boost trade in the region included liberalising trade in agriculture, expanding a pan-Mediterranean export-origin pact, and getting more Arab nations into the World Trade Organisation. —Reuters