WTO membership has delivered benefits for Oman

BUSINESS REPORTER

MUSCAT,NOV 15

As the Sultanate of Oman celebrates 20 years as a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Qais bin Mohammed al Yousuf, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion recently delivered an online presentation at a WTO, Arab Monetary Fund and Islamic Development Bank organised event.

Alongside Al Yousuf was Hilda al Hinai, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Sultanate of Oman to the WTO Office in Geneva, and Maqbool Ali Sultan, who headed the erstwhile Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

The World Trade Organization’s General Council approved the accession of Oman to the WTO in October 2000. Following the General Council’s approval, Maqbool Ali Sultan, Minister of Commerce and Industry at that time, along with WTO Director-General Mike Moore signed the Protocol of Accession thereby completing the process and Oman became the 139th Member of the WTO on November 9, 2000.

Expressing his pleasure at being able to participate in the event on the anniversary of Oman joining the WTO, Al Yousuf praised the organisation, saying: “Over this past quarter century, the WTO has helped transform international economic relations, promoted global trade and assisted economies worldwide grow. Importantly too it has played a significant role in lifting people out of poverty.”

Al Yousuf explained: “In a time of heightened trade tensions the world needs rules to fall back on and a trusted referee to resolve disputes.

Unfortunately, international trade disputes result in companies losing profits, workers losing jobs and governments losing revenue.

It also results in consumers having fewer product choices. This is why the WTO plays such an important role and we are very proud both of our own contribution to its activities and the benefits WTO membership has delivered for Oman.

In fact, thanks to our WTO membership we have seen growth in industrial exports and increases in the volume of foreign investment Oman has attracted over the past twenty years. Indeed, in WTO Secretariat reviews in 2008 and 2014, Oman was recognised for its adherence to WTO principles and obligations in multilateral trading systems.”

Since the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) took effect in 1947, the average value of tariffs in force around the world has declined by 85 per cent, this is the result of multilateral co-operation and eight rounds of global trade negotiations, first under the GATT and then under its successor, the WTO.

Tariff reductions, together with technological advances, have driven the extraordinary expansion of global trade witnessed in the past 50 years.

In 1960, trade as share of world GDP stood at 24 per cent; today it is just over 60 per cent. This expansion of trade has fuelled economic growth, created jobs and increased household incomes worldwide. It is a key factor behind the rise of emerging markets, where dozens of developing countries have experienced strong economic growth. It also made possible one of the most remarkable achievements in human history: lifting one billion people out of poverty in the space of just two decades. Aiming to increase participants’ knowledge of the WTO accession process, accession-related rules and the state-of-play of Arab accessions, the three-day event also looks to facilitate acceding governments and Article XII members share experiences and lessons learned from the accession process.

Furthermore, it will attempt to identify and mobilise technical assistance support to facilitate and accelerate ongoing Arab accessions in collaboration with development partners.

Al Yousuf concluded: “As we celebrate both Oman’s 50th National Day and 20 years as a WTO member, we look ahead confident in the leadership of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik as he builds on the outstanding legacy of government, trade and international relations he has inherited, leading the sultanate on its path of development in peace and prosperity.”

Currently, the WTO Secretariat is working on the preparation of programme reviews for 2021. More than 20 members are on the provisional list of reviews for next year, including Oman, Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.