WEDNESDAY
4. THEORY
Regional Integration in the Middle East
5. ANALYTICS
Integrating the Arab World for Sustainable Growth
VOCABULARY & GRAMMAR
KEY TERMS
| proliferation | a rapid and often excessive spread or increase |
| discriminatory | relating to or marked by discrimination |
| underpin | strengthen by reinforcing a foundation; to give corroboration or support to |
| removal | the act of removing or state of being removed |
| constitute | to create; be tantamount to, to compose or form |
| reassert | strengthen or make more firm |
| compliance | cooperation or obedience, conformity, accordance |
| constrained | to repressed or restrained, forced, compelled, or obliged |
| heterogeneity | the quality of being diverse and not comparable in kind; composition from dissimilar parts; disparateness |
| detrimental | harmful or damaging |
FOCUS WORDS
| endowment | пожертвование, вклад, дар |
| milestone | веха, этап |
| ultimate | окончательный, максимальный, предельный, основной |
| reflect | отражать, отражаться, размышлять |
| hasten | спешить, ускорять |
| preoccupy | занимать внимание, поглощать внимание |
| persistent | стойкий, постоянный, настойчивый |
| enable | позволять, разрешать, давать возможность, делать возможным |
| mismatch | плохое сочетание, несоответствие |
| imperative | необходимый, срочный |
PREPOSITIONS
- diverse in
- key to
- entered into force
- at the sub-regional level
- succeed in
- preoccupied with
- under financial strain
- owing to
- dependence on
- essential to
WORDS FOR REPORT
GRAMMAR PATTERNS
If Arab countries want to address the challenges they face in an efficient and sustainable way, there is no alternative.
Arab integration reached another milestone in 1998, when the Trade Facilitation and Development Agreement entered into force.
In 2005, that deal was upgraded to the Greater Arab Free Trade Agreement (GAFTA), which eliminated customs duties among its 17 member countries.
But, while such efforts – and GAFTA, in particular – have succeeded in boosting intra-regional trade, the free-trade area has not yet reached its full potential, and the ultimate goal of building an Arab common market and customs union remains far from realized.
Some countries are also facing political instability, and the consequences are spilling across their borders.