JEDDAH, 21 January 2003 — Fresh talks on Saudi Arabia’s long standing bid to join the World Trade Organization are expected soon following the personal intervention of WTO chief Supachai Panitchpakdi.
Speaking during a visit to Egypt, he said that he wanted to revive the stalled negotiations with Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi accession dossier, he said, “has gone for seven or eight years, and in the last few years it has been dormant. I’ll try to revive the process,” he promised.
The move was welcomed by Jeddah Chamber of Commerce & Industry Chairman Abdullah Zainal Alireza. “It is great news. It is an absolute necessity. The Kingdom is the largest economy outside the WTO. It is one of the world’s most liberal markets, far more liberal than those of many WTO members.”
According to WTO officials, talks stalled because Saudi Arabia was reluctant to open up its oil, telecoms and banking sector to foreign competition.
Some Saudi businessmen, however, say the real problem was not Saudi Arabia but the US. “It wanted to impose changes on us, such as on the status of women, that had nothing to do with trade,” commented one leading Saudi businessman.
Whether the WTO explanation is true or not, it is now irrelevant. The government’s massive privatization agenda and the opening up to foreign investment totally changes matters and should ease negotiations.
