The General Authority for Foreign Trade has organized technical meetings between the Saudi team responsible for the third review of the Kingdom's trade policies, which is headed by the Authority and includes representatives of 42 governmental entities concerned with trade and investment policies in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the experts of the WTO's Secretariat. The meetings were held through video communication over two days, 15 and 16 December 2020, as part of a series of meetings being held since the launch of the one-year review procedures in March 2020. Mr. Abdulrahman bin Ahmed Al-Harbi
, Governor of the General Authority for Foreign Trade, stated that the meetings were focused on the clarification of some policies, information, and data on the Kingdom's trade policies related to the review period that begins extends from January 2016 to December 2020. Al-Harbi added that these meetings pave the way for the main meeting to be held to review the Kingdom's trade policies at the headquarters of the WTO in Geneva in March 2021. The mechanism for the review of the Kingdom's trade policy covers several points including the economic environment, trade and investment systems, the analysis of trade policy tools, and performance per sector, as they have been included in third annex of the Marrakesh Agreement, by virtue of which the WTO was established in 1994. The trade policies review aims to contributing to the improvement of the WTO's member states' commitment to regulations and obligations stipulated in multilateral agreements. Moreover, the review serves as a tool to increase awareness about the world trade system. The review addresses the trade of goods and services, along with trade-related aspects, to increase transparency and ensure that these trade policies do not affect the multilateral trading system. The trade policies review process consists of two reports. First, the Secretariat Report conducted by the WTO's Secretariat. It is a detailed report on the trade policies of a member state; it consists of a summary of trade-related main trends, growth, developments, and principles. This report highlights changes to laws and legislations. The second report is the "Government Report." It is conducted by the government of the member state. It consists of a clarification of trade policies currently in force. It highlights the positive aspects not mentioned in the Secretariat Report; aspects which reflect the Kingdom's progress and developments during the review period on the level of trade and investment policies, which positively affected the business ecosystem and investment attraction. The Report reflected the compliance of these policies and efforts to achieve the goals of the Kingdom's Vision 2030. The most important developments therein include the cancellation of the sponsorship system, the development of customs procedures, the development of procedures that attract foreign investment, and the development of an ambitious foreign trade policy for the Kingdom targeting the diversification of exports. It is worth noting that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia joined the WTO on 11 December 2005, becoming member No. 149. The WTO currently includes 164 member states that represent around 98% of the global trade. The Kingdom conducted the first trade policies review in January 2012 and the second review in April 2016.