Saudi Deputy Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said that the demands made during Saudi Arabia’s accession to the World Trade Organization had negatively affected the kingdom’s energy interests. He noted that the negotiating team had worked to protect Saudi interests in resources, energy, and economic diversification. Those efforts culminated in accession in 2005 on terms that preserved its interests, provided access to foreign markets, and protected it from unfair trade practices.
In a speech delivered on his behalf by Dr. Turki Al-Thunayan at a discussion on recent developments in global trade, organized by the Council of Saudi Chambers and the Harvard alumni association in Saudi Arabia, Prince Abdulaziz highlighted the negotiating team’s success in opposing new subsidy rules that could have allowed trading partners to affect the commercial advantage of Saudi oil exports. He praised efforts to counter dumping complaints against Saudi exports, including the European Union’s decision to stop investigating claims against Saudi petrochemical exports.
Al-Thunayan stressed Prince Abdulaziz’s conviction that government support for Saudi institutions could help the kingdom retain the benefits of WTO membership and trade negotiations and remain an active member of the organization.
Ayed Al-Otaibi, director general for systems and procedures development at the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority, said the new millennium had marked the beginning of another era of developing and modernizing business regulations. The current foreign investment law had helped build closer ties with the international business community through reforms, incentives, and the liberalization of several economic and investment sectors.
Council of Saudi Chambers member Abdullah bin Saeed Al-Mubti said the kingdom’s economic openness and balanced, distinguished trade relationships over past decades had benefited not only the private sector but also households and the wider public. Through its God-given resources and economic and commercial relationships, Saudi Arabia had raised citizens’ living standards. He noted that GDP per capita had risen from $15,000 in 2009 to $24,000 in 2013.
Raj Bhala, identified in the article as associate dean of the law school at the University of Kansas City in the United States, discussed Saudi Arabia’s substantial development since joining the WTO, including its improved sovereign credit rating. He said the kingdom was making notable economic progress and diversifying its economy and production base, and he expected its participation in the dispute settlement system to increase.
On sustainable development, Bhala said Saudi Arabia had adopted a broader definition extending beyond the environment to poverty reduction, technological improvement, financial development, and better health. Citing expert estimates, he said free trade and liberalization enriched 1 percent of the world’s population, who would own 50 percent of global wealth by 2050.
Harvard alumni association president Saud Al-Ammari outlined the association’s work over the 30 years since its founding to serve Saudi society and the Harvard community and strengthen ties between them. He said it had supported several Harvard schools and established research chairs, and would continue increasing its support for the prestigious institution.