JEDDAH, 1 May 2004 — Saudi Arabia is set to hold a fresh round of WTO talks with the United States on Monday amid expectations that it could join the Geneva-based trade organization by July. “The accession process is in its final stages,” the chairman of the WTO working party on Saudi Arabia, Munir Akram, told a closed-door session.
Akram proposed that the working party conclude its part of the entry process by June 14, which will require Saudi Arabia to show that it has adapted its commercial laws to WTO rules. Commerce and Industry Minister Dr. Hashim Yamani, who attended Thursday’s session in Geneva, expressed his confidence that the Kingdom could settle outstanding differences with the US before the due date for its accession to the World Trade Organization.
“There are differences on copyright, insurance and trade competition and the new laws will be ready in time for the Kingdom’s WTO accession,” the minister was quoted as saying.
The US wants the Kingdom to open its insurance and financial services markets to foreign competition and it has also taken issue with the generous price discount that the state oil company Saudi Aramco gives to the country’s petrochemical giant SABIC.
If the Kingdom and the US succeed in patching up their differences and sign a bilateral accord by mid-June, the working group could present its recommendation to WTO’s General Assembly to admit Saudi Arabia. The general assembly meets on July 27.
Yamani told Thursday’s session his country had completed bilateral agreements with a number of countries such as China, Indonesia, India and the Philippines since the last accession meeting in February.
The United States warned recently that it could not support Saudi Arabia’s accession until issues relating to its financial services sector, fuel price discounts and intellectual property rights had been addressed.
Apart from negotiations with the WTO, aspiring members must also conclude bilateral accords with any member state that demands it. The Kingdom’s entry depend on its reaching bilateral deals with the United States and Panama, the only two WTO member states with whom disagreements remain.
Saudi Arabia, Russia and Ukraine are the three largest economies still not admitted to the 147-member WTO. All three opened talks in the mid-1990s. The Kingdom’s negotiating team included State Minister Abdullah Zainal, Deputy Minister for Commercial Affairs Fawaz Al-Alami and about 60 officials representing various ministries.
