Commerce Minister Dr. Majid Alkassabi headed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's delegation at the 67th meeting of the GCC Trade Cooperation Committee, on Thursday, 31 October 2024, in Doha, with the participation of GCC General Secretary, Mr. Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, and GCC Commerce Ministers.
The meeting discussed developments in the negotiations of free trade agreements with countries, the challenges of intra-GCC trade, the work of the subcommittees of the commission on trade cooperation projects, including projects related to the commission on small and medium enterprises and entrepreneurship, the trade laws of the GCC states, and GCC Commerce Ministers were briefed on the Secretariat-General's reports on the work of the committees of the Committee and on the follow-up to the implementation of previous decisions of the Ministerial Committee.
Alkassabi participated in the eighth meeting of the Ministerial Committee on Standardization, which aims at strengthening cooperation among Member States and achieving Gulf consensus in various areas of standardization, supporting intraregional trade and stimulating joint economic growth. The GSO's efforts were reviewed and 10 new Gulf technical regulations adopted, reflecting the ongoing efforts to develop the regulatory framework in the areas of standardization and its budget was approved for fiscal year 2025. The Minister also participated in the consultative meeting with the Heads of State Chambers Confederations and the “Made in the Gulf” exhibition.
His Excellency stressed the importance of strengthening cooperation and communication between the GCC States and solving all obstacles and challenges, thereby contributing to increasing the trade exchange among countries and fulfilling the aspirations of the leadership of Gulf governments and people.
Also noted the need to advance the negotiations of free trade agreements between GCC states and targeted economic countries through the rapid unification of national positions among the relevant government agencies.
His Excellency met with Mr. Qais Mohammed Al Yousef, the Omani Minister of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, and Mr. Khalifa Abdullah Al Askar, the Kuwaiti Minister of Commerce and Industry, to enhance cooperation in various areas.
In 2023, the trade exchange between the Kingdom and GCC countries reached SAR 208 billion, representing about 10.5% of the Kingdom's international trade.