Abdullah bin Adel Fakhro, Minister of Industry and Trade, participated in the sixty-ninth meeting of the Commercial Cooperation Committee and the fifty-fifth meeting of the Industrial Cooperation Committee, in the sisterly State of Kuwait, in the presence of His Excellency Mr. Jassim Muhammad Al-Budaiwi, Secretary-General of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, and the Ministers of Trade and Industry of the Council countries.
The meetings of the two committees discussed a number of topics on the agenda, as Their Excellencies and Excellencies the ministers reviewed the latest developments in the negotiations of free trade agreements between the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and international economic blocs, in addition to proposals for regulating cross-border trade in services within the framework of the Gulf common market.
The meetings also discussed initiatives aimed at supporting and empowering Gulf entrepreneurs and promoting the integration of small and medium enterprises into regional and global markets.
The meetings also touched on the efforts made to develop the unified Gulf legislative framework for e-commerce and consumer protection in digital markets, and discussed proposed policies to support national industries, including mechanisms to combat harmful practices in international trade and implement collective protection measures for Gulf goods, as well as initiatives aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of the industrial sector and stimulating the shift towards advanced and sustainable manufacturing in the GCC countries.
On the sidelines of the meetings, the Minister participated in the periodic consultative meeting between the Ministers of Trade and Industry of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and the heads of the federations and chambers of commerce and industry in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, where a number of issues of common interest were reviewed and the views of the Ministry of Industry and Trade on the agenda were discussed.
He also participated in the consultative meeting between the ministers of trade and industry and an elite group of Gulf business leaders, which addressed the most prominent challenges and opportunities facing the private sector in the GCC countries, and ways to enhance its role in supporting the process of joint Gulf economic development.
The Minister of Industry and Trade also met with the Governor of the Saudi Standards and Metrology Organization, Dr. Saad bin Othman Al-Qasabi Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi, where a number of topics related to developing trade relations between the two brotherly countries were discussed.
