JEDDAH: The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Japan announced the resumption of discussions for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA). On the sidelines of a meeting between Prime Minister of Japan Fumio Kishida and GCC Secretary-General Jassem Al-Budaiwi in Jeddah on Sunday, the GCC and Japan signed a joint statement in this respect.
In a statement, the GCC secretary-general stated that this announcement follows the Ministerial Council’s directives to sign free trade agreements with GCC trade partners as part of the priorities that were agreed to accomplish at its session in June 2022.
Al-Budaiwi went on to say that Japan is one of the GCC’s top priority for strengthening strategic, economic, development, and investment connections.
The secretary-general emphasised the GCC member nations’ expectations that this agreement will strengthen trade and investment connections between the two sides.
He emphasised its importance in ushering in a new age of partnership aimed at creating numerous prospects for joint growth for both sides’ business communities, particularly in priority industries.
According to Al-Budaiwi, this agreement will pave the way for the development of a comprehensive economic framework based on mutual interests, which in turn will strengthen strategic cooperation, promote innovation, stimulate economic growth, and create job opportunities for both parties.
He emphasised the GCC countries’ and Japan’s strategic and important links in all sectors, most notably the high degree of political coordination, as well as cooperation in the fields of energy and commercial exchange.
He stated that Japan was ranked fourth in terms of GCC exports with a value of $76.7 billion and fourth in terms of GCC imports with a value of $22 billion.
