Muscat: The city of Muscat on Thursday hosted a number of GCC ministerial committees’ meetings. These included the 64th meeting of the GCC Commercial Cooperation Committee, the 50th meeting of the GCC Industrial Cooperation Committee and the 5th meeting of the GCC Standardization Affairs Ministerial Committee.
In addition, GCC ministers of commerce and industry held a consultative meeting with heads of chambers of commerce and industry in GCC states.
The ministerial meetings were chaired by Qais Mohammed al Yousef, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion. They were attended by GCC Secretary General Jassim Muhammad al Budaiwi and the respective ministers, undersecretaries and heads of GCC chambers of commerce and industry.
The 64th meeting of the Commercial Cooperation Committee discussed the decisions of the Financial and Economic Cooperation Committee on finalizing steps towards the establishment of the Gulf Common Market before the end of 2024.
It also exchanged views about joint action undertaken to address the challenges of intra-trade between GCC states, proposals to draft a decision on the formation of a permanent committee to be tasked with investment issues and other matters of relevance to the commercial sector in the GCC countries.
The Industrial Cooperation Committee discussed means coining a unified identity for the GCC or Gulf national product and setting its standards.
The committee looked into a proposal made by the GCC secretariat general to establish an electronic information platform to showcase GCC industrial projects. It also debated the executive regulation of the Unified Industrial Organization Law.
The GCC Ministerial Committee for Standardization Affairs discussed the progress made in endorsing GCC draft technical regulations, in addition to the use of the Gulf Conformity Mark system and the badge of Gulf Accreditation Centre.
The consultative meeting of heads of GCC chambers of commerce and industry elaborated on means of boosting the growth of the GCC economic sector. They also considered devising a mechanism to provide business incubators for digital projects and artificial intelligence projects in member states.
The officials underscored the significance of the GCC Commercial Concession Law and the smooth operation of supply chains.
On the sidelines of the meetings, a platform for Gulf entrepreneurs was launched with the prime aim of providing necessary data and information, identifying investment opportunities, financing channels and support parties.
The platform will provide common ground for dialogue between entrepreneurs and investors, besides providing data on the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and promoting the products and services of Gulf entrepreneurs.
Al Yousef commended the efforts made by the GCC General Secretariat in following up the implementation of past decisions and preparing for the meetings of this session.
Al Budaiwi said that joint action under the banner of the GCC resulted in active commercial activity, proof of which is the fact that the volume of trade exchange between the GCC countries exceeded $100 billion.
On his part, Dr Saleh Said Masan, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion for Commerce and Industry, said that the Sultanate of Oman, which chairs the current GCC session, submitted two proposals for promoting joint action: first, dedicating a prize to honour outstanding innovators and, second, holding a GCC industrial forum to be attended by senior industrialists, academicians and decision makers—to consolidate coordination towards industrial integration among GCC countries.
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
