JEDDAH, 13 November 2005 — Saudi Arabia, which was officially admitted to the World Trade Organization on Friday, has won substantial concessions from WTO members, says Dr. Fawaz Al-Alami, deputy minister of commerce and industry.
“The Kingdom has been exempted from 59 clauses of a WTO working team report which has 319 clauses,” said Al-Alami, head of the Kingdom’s technical negotiating team who led the struggle to win WTO membership.
He said the WTO agreement offered 75 percent Saudization of jobs in foreign companies. “It has also approved the system of Zakat for Saudi traders and income tax for foreigners,” he pointed out.
Commerce and Industry Minister Hashem Yamani signed the WTO accession documents at a special ceremony in Geneva on Friday on behalf of Saudi Arabia. The documents included the unified list of products, the unified list of services and the working team’s report.
“Saudi Arabia has received 10 years of grace on the issue of government subsidies for the agricultural sector,” Al-Alami said while talking about the concessions received by the Kingdom during the 12-year-long WTO negotiations.
“We have gained exemption from importing products such as alcohol and pork that are contrary to Islamic law,” Okaz Arabic daily quoted Al-Alami as saying after the WTO General Council endorsed the Kingdom’s accession. He said the 50-member Saudi negotiating team visited 57 countries, signed 38 bilateral accords, answered 3,000 questions and presented more than 7,000 documents as part of the Kingdom’s efforts to win WTO membership.
Minister Yamani hailed the historic move and said WTO entry would integrate the Kingdom into the world economy. “The accession will enhance the business environment in Saudi Arabia by adding more transparency and predictability,” Yamani told reporters in Geneva. The Kingdom’s bilateral WTO agreement with the United States in September this year paved the way for Friday’s accession. Representatives of WTO-member countries congratulated the Saudi delegation for its achievement and patience throughout a long process.
British Ambassador to the Kingdom Sherard Cowper-Coles congratulated Riyadh and hoped that WTO membership would encourage political and economic reforms in Saudi Arabia. “I am delighted that WTO members have approved Saudi Arabia’s accession and proud of the part played by the United Kingdom’s presidency of the European Union in helping deliver this,” Cowper-Coles said.
Many Saudis, however, want to know more about the terms and conditions of the WTO agreement. Economist Muhammad Al-Qahtani asked the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to give a clear idea of the agreement, saying that most Saudis are ignorant of it.
He said WTO accession would have a negative impact on certain companies, especially family ones. “The ministry has a duty to enlighten Saudi society on the WTO and its effects,” Qahtani said. The Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry will host a workshop entitled “Combating Dumping within the framework of WTO” on Nov. 19 and 20. Muhammad Al-Sharief, secretary-general of the chamber, said 13 papers would be presented at the workshop.
