Japan, Persian Gulf nations hold first meeting to discuss free trade deal
International Herald Tribune
Japan, Persian Gulf nations hold first meeting to discuss free trade deal
The Associated Press
21 September 2006
Tokyo. Japan and six Middle Eastern countries including Saudi Arabia on Thursday began the first round of talks on a free trade agreement, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said.
Japan and the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, or GCC, began the two days of talks at Japan’s Foreign Ministry in Tokyo, an official from the ministry’s Middle Eastern and African Affairs Bureau said on condition of anonymity, citing ministry policy.
The six GCC countries are Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
Japan and Saudi Arabia in April agreed to start formal negotiations on a FTA between Japan and the GCC countries.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mitoji Yabunaka was among the officials representing Japan, the ministry official said. Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Minister of Finance for Economic Affairs Hamad bin Sulayman al-Bazai, who was slated to head the GCC delegation, was also in attendance, she said.
Officials were expected to exchange views on trade in goods and services, aimed at reaching an early agreement, another ministry official, Takashi Kanazawa, said ahead of the meeting. No date has been set for the conclusion of an agreement, he said.
The GCC was formed in 1981 to devise a unified political, economic and military policy.
TOKYO Japan and six Middle Eastern countries including Saudi Arabia on Thursday began the first round of talks on a free trade agreement, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said.
Japan and the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, or GCC, began the two days of talks at Japan’s Foreign Ministry in Tokyo, an official from the ministry’s Middle Eastern and African Affairs Bureau said on condition of anonymity, citing ministry policy.
The six GCC countries are Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
Japan and Saudi Arabia in April agreed to start formal negotiations on a FTA between Japan and the GCC countries.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mitoji Yabunaka was among the officials representing Japan, the ministry official said. Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Minister of Finance for Economic Affairs Hamad bin Sulayman al-Bazai, who was slated to head the GCC delegation, was also in attendance, she said.
Officials were expected to exchange views on trade in goods and services, aimed at reaching an early agreement, another ministry official, Takashi Kanazawa, said ahead of the meeting. No date has been set for the conclusion of an agreement, he said.
The GCC was formed in 1981 to devise a unified political, economic and military policy.
