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Saudi Companies Outline Challenges in Facilitating Flow of Goods with GCC Countries

The Federation of Gulf Cooperation Council Chambers (FGCCC) aims to ensure the smooth flow of goods within member states. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Federation of Gulf Cooperation Council Chambers (FGCCC) aims to ensure the smooth flow of goods within member states. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Companies Outline Challenges in Facilitating Flow of Goods with GCC Countries

The Federation of Gulf Cooperation Council Chambers (FGCCC) aims to ensure the smooth flow of goods within member states. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Federation of Gulf Cooperation Council Chambers (FGCCC) aims to ensure the smooth flow of goods within member states. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Federation of Gulf Cooperation Council Chambers (FGCCC) is collecting proposals from member states on the technical challenges and non-tariff obstacles that hinder the agreement on the requirements for certificates of conformity and quality.

Sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states continue to make progress towards completing the necessary steps to reach Gulf economic integration.

They said this step aims to understand the challenges facing the industrial and commercial sectors, whether technical or non-tariff obstacles, that affect the completion of the Gulf customs union and the common market.

The efforts exerted by the Federation help in enhancing the effective flow of goods and products between member states.

Informing Saudi companies

The Federation asked the Saudi private sector to fill out a special questionnaire outlining the challenges facing them in establishing the Gulf customs union and the mechanisms of the common Gulf market.

The Federation recently launched the first GCC Business and Tenders Gate within a series of platforms to keep pace with digital transformation and facilitate cooperation by providing and displaying the most essential Gulf trade and economic opportunities.

GCC Business and Tenders Gate is a fully functional business guide, service search engine, and business accelerator that connects all public and private businesses.

It is the only official governmental platform representing the GCC countries in all the updated tenders and projects, providing an additional unique service feature with daily updated tenders in all the GCC.

It will also update members in the six countries with all the business and tender news and the latest updates for any sector or service.

Tenders and trade

The platform is divided into three main sections: the government and private tenders section, which contains all government agencies and departments, as well as private sector tenders.

It also includes all decisions and cooperation mechanisms between local and regional companies for entrepreneurship.

The third section is a media center that includes the latest news and reports on Gulf projects, which helps investors and business owners follow up on projects and participate in them to increase the local and Gulf national product.

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Business

Fire, Smoke Upend Western Canada’s Summer Tourism Season

A helicopter works a forest fire outside of Jasper, Alberta, Canada, on Friday July 26, 2024. (Reuters)
A helicopter works a forest fire outside of Jasper, Alberta, Canada, on Friday July 26, 2024. (Reuters)
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Fire, Smoke Upend Western Canada’s Summer Tourism Season

A helicopter works a forest fire outside of Jasper, Alberta, Canada, on Friday July 26, 2024. (Reuters)
A helicopter works a forest fire outside of Jasper, Alberta, Canada, on Friday July 26, 2024. (Reuters)

Severe wildfire seasons are increasingly hurting western Canada's lucrative tourism industry, with some visitors beginning to avoid the busy late-summer months due to concerns about uncontrolled blazes, smoke-filled skies and road closures.

After a scorching start to July, nearly 600 wildfires are now ablaze across British Columbia and Alberta, including a huge fire that this week devastated the picturesque tourist town of Jasper in the Canadian Rockies.

Dozens of communities, including popular holiday spots in British Columbia's Kootenay region, are under evacuation orders and several highways are closed.

This year's surge in wildfire activity comes after Canada endured its worst-ever year for wildfires in 2023, when more than 15 million hectares (37 million acres) burned, including parts of the city of West Kelowna in the heart of British Columbia's wine region.

Ellen Walker-Matthews, head of the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association, said the industry was seeing a lot more last-minute travel decisions instead of booking in advance.

"It's a huge blow. July and August are traditionally the busiest months in the region," said Walker-Matthews, adding that while her region has been relatively unscathed by wildfires this summer, some visitors are choosing to avoid interior British Columbia altogether.

The members of the British Columbia Lodging and Campgrounds Association are reporting a 5-15% drop in bookings from a year ago, with the biggest declines coming from the hotter Okanagan and Cariboo regions, said Joss Penny, who heads the association.

"The concern is that this is something we have to live with and we have it every year now," said Penny.

Although wildfires in Canada's forests are natural and common, scientists say drier, hotter conditions fueled by climate change are leading to more volatile and frequent blazes.

'SMOKEY SKIES'

Some events, like the Salmon Arm Roots and Blues Festival, usually held in August, have now been rescheduled to earlier in the summer to avoid what is now seen as peak smoke season. The festival, which was cancelled last year due to nearby wildfires, was this year moved to July to benefit from "less smokey skies."

Wildfires and extreme climatic events are prompting tourists to "change their plans not just temporarily, but permanently," said Elizabeth Halpenny, a tourism researcher and professor at the University of Alberta, noting that seasonal workers in the sector are often the hardest hit as they have few protections during a bad season or amid a cataclysmic fire.

Tourism contributed C$7.2 billion to the British Columbia economy in 2022, and C$9.9 billion to Alberta in 2023, according to the latest government data.

Jasper National Park is one of Canada's premier tourist destinations, with more than 2 million visitors a year flocking to see its pristine mountain landscapes and abundant wildlife, including grizzly bears, moose and elk.

Kelly Torrens, vice-president of product at international tour company Kensington Tours, described western Canada as a bucket-list destination. But the company now has 49 trips that were supposed to pass through Jasper this season in limbo. Six others were forced to evacuate the park when the fire hit.

Parks Canada has cancelled all camping reservations within Jasper National Park until Aug. 6 and with potentially 50% of the town's structures destroyed by fire, the cleanup and rebuild could take years.

Halpenny is among those hedging their bets.

"I've booked a campsite stay in the mountain parks but at the same time, I booked a campsite out on the prairie somewhere and that's my backup plan because I don't want to miss out on my vacation with my family."