The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has participated in the Informal, preparatory, Ministerial Meeting for the 11th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO). His Excellency Dr. Majid bin Abdullah Al Qasabi heads the Saudi delegation for this conference. Notably, 35 WTO Member States, that have the greatest influence in the international trade, are participating in this global event.
Among the countries participating in this preparatory conference are four Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Kingdom of Morocco, the hosting party, in addition to Six (6) observer countries that would like to join the WTO, as well as the Director General of the WTO, Mr. Roberto Azvedo, also the Ambassadors and Chairmen of 8 main negotiating committees.
This preparatory conference aims at reaching a preliminary agreement on the topics to be discussed and addressed at the 11th Ministerial Conference to be held in Argentina in December of this year, as well as to identify the expectations of the WTO Member States regarding the decisions to be issued during MC 11.
Within the agenda of this conference, Dr. Al-Qasabi delivered a speech, reflecting the Kingdom's interests and negotiating situations of the issues to be discussed.
On the sidelines of this conference, H.E. the Minister of Commerce and Investment held a series of bilateral meetings with the trade ministers of the countries participating in this Ministerial Conference.
The bilateral meetings, chaired by H.E. Dr. Al Qasabi and his accompanying delegation, discussed means of developing trade and enhancing the access of Saudi exports to the markets of foreign and Arab countries. It was agreed with their Excellency the Ministers to enhance the prospects for cooperation.
The Kingdom's interest to enhance the global trading system reflects the importance of promoting the Saudi non-oil exports for the realization of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.
The Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which is composed of the trade ministers of the Member States, is considered the WTO highest authority and the highest decision-making party, where decisions are taken unanimously.
It is worth mentioning that this Ministerial Conference is held every two years. The first WTO Ministerial Conference was held in Singapore during the period 09-13 December 1996.