His Excellency Dr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi the Minister of Commerce and Chairman of the board of directors of the General Authority of Foreign Trade headed the delegation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the twelfth ministerial conference meetings for the World Trade Organization(WTO) in Geneva, which were held between 12-15 June 2022.
The Arab countries coordination meeting was convened by the lead of Al Qasabi with the participation of the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. The Arab states members meeting was organized by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as the coordinator of Arab states in (WTO) with its general director and it took a place in the organization.
Bilateral meetings were held by Al Qasabi in the light of the conference with H.E Nevin Jameh Minister of Commerce and Industry, H.E Zayed bin Rashid Al Zayani Minister of Industry, Commerce, and Tourism of Bahrain, H.E Ryad Mezzour Minister of Industry and Commerce of Morocco, H.E Abdullah bin Touq Al Mari Minister of Foreign Commerce of United Arab Emirates, H.E Fahad bin Mutlaq Al Sheraian Minister of Commerce of Kuwait, and H.E Dr. Amaal Saleh Saad Minister of Commerce and Supplies of Sudan.
He also met H.E Koichi Hagiwara Minister of Commerce and Economy of Japan, H.E Piyush Goyal Minister of Commerce of India, and H.E Manuel Tovara River Minister of Foreign Commerce of Costa Rica. During these meetings, they discussed developing relations and enhancing economic cooperation.
In his speech during the ministerial conference, the Minister of Commerce stressed that at this time is an opportunity to deliver a clear message that the multilateral trading system and the (WTO) are still able to provide results to deal with current challenges, including the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, and achieve an economic recovery that guarantees equitable, affordable access, scale-up of vaccine production, response to food security challenges, and e-commerce.
Al Qasabi clarified that Saudi Arabia believes that reforming the (WTO) must be a priority for all. In that regard, the Kingdom launched during its presidency of the Group of Twenty in 2020, the "Riyadh Initiative on the Future of the World Trade Organization."
Al Qasabi reiterated that the Kingdom invites members of (WTO) to facilitate and accelerate the accession process of developing countries and least developing countries, especially Arab countries. Based on the joint ministerial statement and the statement on the adoption of the Arabic language as an official working language in the (WTO) and approved by the trade ministers of the Arab countries.
It is worth noting that this year's ministerial conference discusses several important topics in the areas of agriculture negotiations, fisheries support, and reforming the (WTO). In addition, the organization's response to the pandemic, food security in developing and least developing countries and many other topics