The Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported that the first round of negotiations on a free trade agreement between the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and Indonesia began today, Monday, in Jakarta.
The Gulf Cooperation Council includes Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman.
The first round of negotiations, which will take place from 9 to 13 September, will address topics related to trade in goods and services, investment, customs procedures, rules of origin, technical barriers to trade, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, as well as trade facilitation and digital trade and trade processors.
“Foreign Trade” led the Saudi negotiating team participating in the first round of negotiations for the free trade agreement between the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and Indonesia.https://t.co/y1sPvrdRND#Vas_economie pic.twitter.com/Xz3aWQxjjb
– Economic SPA (@SPAéconomie) September 9, 2024
This round also aims to set the framework for the next rounds of negotiations and their desired objectives with the aim of concluding the agreement within 24 months.
The tour comes as a follow-up to the signing of the joint declaration to begin free trade negotiations between the GCC countries and Indonesia last July, with the aim of increasing cooperation and strengthening economic relations between the two sides.
The deal is expected to provide preferential access for Gulf goods and services to the Indonesian market by removing or reducing tariffs on most products, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates signed a bilateral trade agreement in 2022.
The trade volume between Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Indonesia in 2023 reached approximately 7 billion dollars.