BEIRUT: Arab countries should boost intraregional trade, investments and push for deeper economic integration, said head of the Economic Committees Adnan Kassar over the weekend.

Kassar, who spoke at a conference in the Saudi capital Riyadh, said Arab countries should uphold plans for a customs union due in 2015, to face ongoing economic challenges, particularly unemployment.

“We need to take real measures to move to a customs union paving the way for a common market,” he said, calling for an agreement to facilitate visas for businessmen and ease bureaucratic barriers.

“Arab countries need to finalize legislative frameworks at the same time as infrastructure projects needed to link the Arab world,” he said.

”It is no longer acceptable that regional economic integration remains on the slow and hesitant track it has been on during the past,” he added.