CAIRO, 22 March — Commerce Minister Osama Faqeeh said yesterday that the Kingdom has still a long way to go in order to join the World Trade Organization. “Our efforts to conclude more WTO agreements are continuing but we find the negotiations very difficult,” he said.
The statement of Faqeeh, who leads the Kingdom’s delegation for WTO talks, came after predictions that Riyadh would gain access to the international organization by the end of this year.
Faqeeh, who took part in the opening of Cairo International Exhibition here yesterday, said bilateral trade between the Kingdom and Egypt amounted to more than SR2.2 billion in the year 2000 with Saudi exports reaching SR1.45 billion and imports from Egypt SR757 million.
The Saudi minister estimated the Kingdom’s investments in Egypt at more than SR4.8 billion with Saudi businessmen participating in 563 projects. Saudi investment tops the list of Arab investments in Egypt, he added.
“About 250,000 Saudi tourists visit Egypt every year and thousands of Egyptians visit the Kingdom for Haj and Umrah annually,” he pointed out.
He stressed the role of the Cairo exhibition in promoting Saudi-Egyptian trade. “Our participation in the show remains a symbol of cooperation between the two countries,” he added.
