UAE Ministry of Economy participates in three key GCC meetings in Qatar

The 38th meeting of the Gulf Trade Cooperation Committee discussed various issues covering regional commerce, including obstacles to commercial exchange; equal rights to economic activities among GCC citizens; Gulf trademark laws; the Uniform Code on the supervision and control of the regional insurance companies sector; agreements between the Secretariat General and various regional and international organizations; recommendations on price increases; and the meeting report of the World Trade Organization Committee.

On the other hand, the 8th meeting of the GCC Standardization Organization Board of Directors discussed developments in the organization's goal of coordinating standardization activities across the Gulf to protect public health and the environment.

The meeting also discussed the enhancement of regional industry to boost competitiveness; strengthen inter-Gulf trade; and eliminate technical obstacles to trade.

Among the specific topics covered were Secretariat General Memorandums on the adoption of regional technical regulations; price effects of the new Gulf standard specifications; adoption of the final count; opinions on the Gulf unified standardisation system; the implementation of work guides within subcommittees on standardisation and metrology; the work guide for the Steering Committee on standardisation and metrology; and the appointment of the Secretary General of the standardisation organization.

The final meeting, the 27th assembly of the Gulf Industrial Cooperation Committee, discussed the proposal of King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, Prime Minister, and King of Saudi Arabia; to accelerate industrial performance and remove obstacles to regional collaboration.

Discussions specifically covered mechanisms for protecting national industrial products; unifying the permit form for new industrial projects; Advisory Board views on enhancing the work environment to complement the Gulf's private sector; conferences between regional businesses and their counterparts from other countries and economic groups; the resource rules project for the Gulf; recommendations for the 11th GCC Industrialists Conference; and recommendations of the working team of industry committees in the GCC chambers.

"These meetings promote trade and industrial cooperation among GCC countries by developing a unified regional market that ensures equal competition for industrial and commercial projects.

They also help to diversify national sources of income by encouraging the development of industrial and commercial sectors; establishing sophisticated and modern industries based on available natural resources; and creating industries that can effectively compete within the international markets," concluded H.E. Al Mansouri.

MoE representatives present during the meetings included Undersecretary H.E. Mohammed Ahmed Bin Abdulaziz Alshihhi; H.E. Jamal Nasser Lootah, Assistant Undersecretary, Industry Affairs; H.E. Hamaid Ali Bin Butti Al Muhairi, Assistant Undersecretary for Companies and Control Affairs; H.E. Khaled Ghanem Al Gaith, Assistant Undersecretary for Economic Affairs and International Cooperation; H.E. Walid Bin Falah Al Mansouri, Director General, Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Metrology (ESMA); H.E. Mohammed Badri, Deputy Director General, ESMA; Saeed Abdullah Al Rukn, Deputy Director, Department of Industrial Development; Nizar Faisal Al Mashaal, Director of Facilities Management and International Cooperation; Fatima Khalaf Al-Hosani, Director of the Department of Trademarks; Khalid Ahmed Al Aghbari, Senior Executive, Department of Industrial Development; and Mohamed Abdullah Ahmed, MoE Director of Human Resources and Finance Department.