Saudi Arabia joins WTO: after years of negotiations, Saudi Arabia has, at last, reached an agreement to become a member of the World Trade Organisation. Stephen Williams looks at the implications.(BUSINESS & FINANCE)

Publication: The Middle East

Publication Date: 01-DEC-05

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In october a world trade Organisation (WTO) working party declared its approval for Saudi Arabia to become a member of the world trade body. WTO director-general Pascal Lamy welcomed the conclusion of the lengthy negotiations and noted: "This is a very important step in Saudi Arabia's accession to the WTO. I am glad to see that the tremendous amount of work done by the kingdom has now brought it closer to WTO entry. We look forward to confirmation by the WTO's general council in the days to come."

Commerce and industry minister, Hashem Yamani, who led the Saudi negotiating team, called it "a victory for the principles and objectives of the multilateral trading system". One senior Saudi economist described the WTO accession as "an important milestone" in the kingdom's history.

There is general agreement that WTO membership will help the Saudi economy diversify more rapidly from an overreliance on oil exports and that will in...

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