Speaker of the Arab Parliament Adel bin Abdulrahman Al-Asoumi stressed that the challenges facing Arab countries, including conflicts, internal crises, and economic problems, highlight the importance of development projects undertaken by major international institutions, including the World Bank and its five main affiliates, to help these countries address these challenges. Al-Asoumi made his remarks during a meeting in Washington with Executive Director of the World Bank Abdulaziz Al-Mulla and representatives of several Arab countries. The meeting discussed the mechanism of the World Bank's operations, the representation of Arab countries at the bank, and how the bank engages in development projects being implemented in Arab countries. According to a statement issued today, Al-Asoumi referred to the Arab Parliament's keenness to launch a joint development action program with the World Bank and explore potential areas and fields of cooperation through which the bank can provide technical assistance to enhan ce the parliament's legislative role in parliamentary diplomacy. Source: Saudi Press Agency