JEDDAH, 6 September 2005 — US Congress is expected to endorse a bilateral accord with Saudi Arabia within a few days, paving the way for a landmark WTO agreement between the two countries.

“The two sides have signed the bilateral draft agreement and US Congress is expected to endorse it and announce its final form this week or early next week,” a senior Saudi official said.

The official signing ceremony will be held during Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal’s visit to Washington by the middle of this month.

“The bilateral accord removes one of the major obstacles standing in the way of Saudi Arabia’s accession to the World Trade Organization,” the official told Asharq Al-Awsat, a sister publication of Arab News.

Saudi Arabia is expected to join the world body before the end of this year. A declaration in this respect is likely to be made at the WTO conference in Hong Kong scheduled for Dec. 13-18.

The Kingdom was cautiously optimistic about the final phase before joining the international body fearing some member states might demand Riyadh sign bilateral agreements as a pre-condition to its membership.

The official warned that such demands risk postponing the Kingdom’s entry into the WTO for at least a year. Saudi Arabia has already signed a major WTO deal with the European Union.

Referring to the bilateral agreement, the official said it would promote investment and commercial ties between the two countries.

The bilateral agreement covers energy, transport, distribution, commerce, the environment, restaurants, post, agriculture, and services.

With the signing of the bilateral treaty, the only obstacle still facing Saudi Arabia remains the European objection to the pricing of liquid gas used in petrochemical industries.

This issue will soon be resolved especially as the US government supports Riyadh, thereby weakening the European position.

The latest accord comes after the Kingdom received fourteen demands from Washington aimed at finalizing a bilateral agreement, including raising the percentage of foreign ownership in the services sector.