Introduction

The Afro-Arab cooperation is considered as one of the oldest regional cooperation initiatives, as it far exceeds a simple geographical relationship to cover deeper aspects of economic, cultural and human ties. This cooperation has been established through the course of long centuries of social mobility and cultural interaction between Arab and African worlds.

This has culminated in launching formal and institutional relationship between Africa and the Arab world since the beginning of the seventieth, especially after the first Africa-Arab summit, convened in March 1977 in Cairo. The summit witnessed the establishment of several institutions for cooperation in various fields. During the past four decades, strong efforts have been made to boost Afro-Arab cooperation in the economic, financial and cultural areas. The Arab bilateral and multilateral aid institutions, including the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), extend economic, financial and technical support to the African countries.

The second Afro-Arab summit held in Libya in 2010, has buttressed the urgent need to intensify efforts to adopt a strategy for Arab-African partnership that tackles the challenges of globalization. A "Strategic Partnership Document" and a joint “Action plan for the African-Arab cooperation for 2011-2016”, were then approved.