By John Zarocostas
GENEVA, April 4, (UPI) - Saudi Arabia's Minister of Commerce, Osama Faquih, said today in Geneva the Kingdom's six-year bid to join the World Trade Organization has picked up momentum.
During a WTO session here examining its accession, Faquih told delegates from over one hundred countries that: "Saudi Arabia has successfully concluded bilateral negotiations with two of our most important trading partners, Japan on January 17th and Australia on March 29th, 2000."
He said the Kingdom, which is engaged in round-the-clock bilateral negotiations with many trading partners, hopes to conclude some additional agreements in the coming days.
Faquih also held a meeting with WTO director-general, Mike Moore, who pledged his support for the Saudi accession, trade officials said.
The minister said the Kingdom had also concluded "an important round of bilateral negotiations" with the 15-member country European Union during the third week of March "and hope to sign a similar agreement with the EU in the very near future."
The EU delegation also told the session it hoped to conclude a bilateral accord "soon" with Saudi Arabia, trade officials said.
A new round of bilateral talks is also scheduled to be held in Geneva with the U.S. later in the week, senior trade diplomats said.
Senior U.S. officials said the Saudi's are pushing very hard and making more progress.
But ahead of the Saudi-U.S. talks, the same sources said the Saudi market access offer in some areas such as commercial services, which includes telecommunications, "needs to be improved."
The Canadian chairman of the WTO working party on the Saudi accession, John Weekes, said the mood was more optimistic.
Faquih pointed out that a very positive indication is that talks will now focus on the first draft protocol--the document, which will codifies the terms of the Saudi entry.
In 1998, Saudi Arabia, according to WTO data, was ranked the world's 29th largest exporting nation with shipments worth $42.3 billion. The recent resurgence in high oil prices, however, is expected to upgrade its status in the exporters league.
Indeed, at the height of the second oil crisis in 1980, marked by high oil prices, Saudi exports reached $108 billion but with the subsequent collapse of oil prices in 1986 dipped to $20.2 billion in 1988.
In order to advance its prospects for membership Saudi Arabia reported that it has made advances in technical areas related to protection of intellectual property rights, customs procedures, import licensing, technical barriers to trade, and sanitary and phytosanitary issues.
Faquih also told delegates the Kingdom is issuing a new law on foreign investment to enhance its attractiveness.
Copyright 2000 by United Press International. All rights reserved.:
