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GCC Minister Discuss Free Trade Agreement with China

Virtual meeting of the GCC Financial and Economic Cooperation Committee (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Virtual meeting of the GCC Financial and Economic Cooperation Committee (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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GCC Minister Discuss Free Trade Agreement with China

Virtual meeting of the GCC Financial and Economic Cooperation Committee (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Virtual meeting of the GCC Financial and Economic Cooperation Committee (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Members of the Financial and Economic Cooperation Committee and the Trade Cooperation Committee of the GCC countries discussed the final report on the technical status of the free trade agreement negotiations between the GCC and China.

The meeting completes the vision of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz regarding enhancing joint action.

The virtual joint meeting was headed by the Omani Finance Minister Sultan bin Salim al-Habsi, who is also the Chairman of the current session, and included Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan, Commerce Minister Majid al-Qasabi, the Ministers and Deputy Ministers of Commerce, Finance, and Economy of the GCC countries, and the GCC Secretary General.

During the meeting, the ministers reviewed many issues related to enhancing financial and economic cooperation between the GCC countries.

The committee was briefed on the recommendations of the undersecretaries' committee and the developments followed up by the General Secretariat.

Jadaan touched on the Saudi efforts to enhance joint Gulf action during its presidency of the previous session, stressing the Kingdom's support for Oman in its presidency of the current session.

He pointed out the need to double efforts to complete the remaining steps to implement the vision of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques regarding promoting joint Gulf action in a way that meets the aspirations of the Gulf leaders.

Members of the Financial and Economic Cooperation Committee and the Trade Cooperation Committee reviewed the steps to establish the customs union before the end of 2024, according to the timetable approved by the committee.

They also followed up on completing the full implementation of the Gulf Common Market, according to the action plan for the period 2022-2024, in the performance of the decision of the 43rd GCC Supreme Council.

Concerning the final report on the technical status of the negotiations of the free trade agreement between the GCC and China, the officials reviewed different points of view in preparation for submitting them to the Ministerial Council regarding the powers of the negotiating team and its mechanisms.

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Riyadh and Tokyo to Launch Coordination Framework to Boost Cooperation

Saudi Ambassador to Japan Dr. Ghazi Binzagr. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Ambassador to Japan Dr. Ghazi Binzagr. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Riyadh and Tokyo to Launch Coordination Framework to Boost Cooperation

Saudi Ambassador to Japan Dr. Ghazi Binzagr. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Ambassador to Japan Dr. Ghazi Binzagr. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Arabia and Japan are close to unveiling a higher partnership council that will be headed by the countries’ leaderships in line with efforts to build a partnership that bolsters the technical transformation and joint research in clean energy, communications and other areas, revealed Saudi Ambassador to Japan Dr. Ghazi Binzagr.

He told Asharq Al-Awsat that the two countries will soon open a new chapter in their sophisticated strategic partnership.

The new council will be chaired by Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister, and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to push forward the Saudi-Japan Vision 2030, he added.

The council will elevate cooperation between the countries and pave the way for broader dialogue and consultations in various fields to bolster political, defense, economic, cultural and sports cooperation, he explained.

The two parties will work on critical technological partnerships that will focus on assessing and developing technologies to benefit from them, Binzagr said. They will also focus on the economy these technologies can create and in turn, the new jobs they will generate.

These jobs can be inside Saudi Arabia or abroad and provide employers with the opportunity to develop the sectors they are specialized in, he added.

Binzagr said Saudi Arabia and Japan will mark 70s years of relations in 2025, coinciding with the launch of Expo 2025 in Osaka in which the Kingdom will have a major presence.

Relations have been based on energy security and trade exchange with Japan’s need for oil. Now, according to Saudi Vision 2030, they can be based on renewable energy and the post-oil phase, remarked the ambassador.

Several opportunities are available in both countries in the cultural, sports and technical fields, he noted.

Both sides agree that improving clean energy and a sustainable environment cannot take place at the expense of a strong economy or quality of life, but through partnership between their countries to influence the global economy, he explained.

"For the next phase, we are keen on consolidating the concept of sustainable partnerships between the two countries in various fields so that this partnership can last for generations,” Binzagr stressed.

“I believe these old partnerships will last for decades and centuries to come,” he remarked.

Moreover, he noted that the oil sector was the cornerstone of the partnership and it will now shift to petrochemicals and the development of the petrochemical industry.