JEDDAH - Major trading nations approved Saudi Arabia’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) during a key meeting in Geneva after 12 years of tough negotiations, The Arab News reported.
Saudi Minister of Commerce and Industry Hashem Yamani, who led the Saudi negotiating team, called it “a victory for the principles and objectives of the multilateral trading system.”
He said Saudi Arabia had made “far-reaching, very substantial and commercially meaningful concessions and commitments on goods and services” that would benefit its trading partners.
The WTO working party, including all major trading nations, approved on October 28, 2005 the final package of Saudi entry terms, which must be endorsed by the body’s ruling General Council on November 11.
“Saudi Arabia is on the threshold of the WTO,” said WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy. “We look forward to the Kingdom’s participation in the WTO ministerial meeting in Hong Kong mid-December as an active member of this organization,” Lamy added.
The Saudi Council of Ministers authorized Yamani on October 18 to sign WTO accession documents, which included 38 bilateral agreements with member states, accession protocol and the final report of the working party.
Entry of the Kingdom, which will bring WTO membership to 149 members, will boost foreign investment in the Kingdom, providing funds for diversification of the largely oil-based economy, and bring new export opportunities for Saudi firms, especially in the petrochemical industry.
Last month, Saudi Arabia signed a trade agreement with the United States seen as the final decisive step in its drive to join the WTO.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil producer, has taken important steps to reform its trade regime, revising legislation, most notably in the areas of intellectual property protection, import licensing, customs valuation, fees, standards and technical regulations.
Onerous non-tariff measures and inspection requirements have been lifted, and replaced with a WTO-compatible system of inspection for health and safety reasons.