GCC-New Zealand free trade deal likely next year
05/21/2006
GCC-New Zealand free trade deal likely next year
By Mariam Al Hakeem, Correspondent
Riyadh: The GCC states and New Zealand are expected to sign a free trade agreement next year.
A source in the New Zealand embassy in Riyadh told Gulf News that there is a strong chance of signing the trade agreement, especially after the recent visit of Trade Minister Phil Goff to the Gulf.
According to a source, negotiators will start intensive, wide-ranging talks to work out details of a free trade accord this year.
"The vast Gulf market, and its exports of petro-leum products, especially petrochemical products from Saudi Arabia, will be the major basis for the agreement," the source said.
Major breakthrough
The volume of New Zealand’s exports to the six GCC states reached $500 million last year and its imports from the GCC, mainly oil and petrochemical products, has exceeded $1 billion.
Meanwhile, the forthcoming talks between the European Trade Commission and the GCC are expected to be a major breakthrough in overcoming the bottlenecks in the establishment of a much-awaited GCC-EU free trade zone, said a senior GCC official.
Saudi Deputy Finance Minister for Economic Affairs Dr. Hamad Al Bazie, who is heading the Gulf team in the trade talks with the European Union, told reporters here yesterday that the date for the talks has yet to be fixed.
"The recent meeting of the Ministerial Council of the GCC and the European Union, held in Brussels, stressed the need to accelerate the procedures to conclude the free trade agreement.
The meeting also agreed to hold talks between the European Trade Commission and the relevant GCC ministers to solve the outstanding issues, mainly concerned with the services sector and government purchasing," he said.
According to Al Bazie, the GCC states have completed the procedures in this respect and presented them to the concerned agencies with the hope of signing a final agreement with the Europeans.
