Dr. Raja bin Manahi Al Marzoqi, General Coordinator of Negotiations and Head of the Negotiating Team of the Gulf Cooperation Council – Senior Economic Advisor at the Ministry of Economy and Planning in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, revealed that the Council, through intensive negotiations with five countries to sign free trade agreements, namely Britain, China, New Zealand, Pakistan, and South Korea, added that a joint statement was signed to launch free trade negotiations with Japan during 2024, and the Council is also preparing to announce the start of negotiations with the Republic of India and the Republic of Turkey, indicating that there is a busy schedule and unprecedented movement on the table of the Gulf Cooperation Council to seek to sign free trade agreements until 2026. These efforts were recently crowned by the signing of a free trade agreement between the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Republic of South Korea, which are the first free trade agreements to be signed since 2009. Signing the agreements is considered a historic step that enhances Gulf economic integration and deepens economic and trade relations between the Council countries and the world. Dr. Raja Al Marzoqi added in a special interview with (Mal) newspaper that we are trying as a negotiating team to negotiate with the largest possible number of countries during the coming period, taking into account the available capabilities in the GCC countries, and we have a directive from the Supreme Council and the Ministerial Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries on the importance of accelerating and expediting the signing of free trade agreements with countries of the world and opening up to the global economy, and strengthening the position of the Cooperation Council as an economic bloc among the global economic powers.

He pointed out the importance of free trade agreements as they contribute to reducing costs for exporters, suppliers and investors and remove any other non-customs obstacles, and contribute to enhancing the competitiveness of the Gulf economy as well as reducing the degree of uncertainty and risk for investors between countries, in light of the existence of these agreements, there are official channels between the two sides to address the challenges and problems facing the private sector or citizens with ease and simplicity, and the agreements contribute directly to increasing trade exchange between countries that sign free trade agreements, at the expense of other countries that have not entered into free trade agreements, and this is what is called the shift of trade in favor of the agreement countries.

Regarding the steps of economic integration between the Gulf Cooperation Council and the customs union and common market file, the chief negotiator confirmed that work is currently underway to complete the remaining customs union files before the end of 2024 AD, according to the directives of the leaders of the Council countries, while working to complete the conditions for achieving the common market between the Gulf Cooperation Council countries. This represents economic benefits for the Council countries and helps in creating an economic bloc with negotiating power based on the economic capabilities of the member states. Dr. Al Marzouqi said that the customs union contributes to integrating the economies of the GCC countries to form a single market with attractive economic potential and negotiating power before the outside world, so that the GCC countries together become the world’s ninth largest economy. In this case, the movement of goods between the GCC countries without any barriers reduces the cost of transportation between the GCC countries and reduces the time it takes for the goods to travel between the member states. Also, adopting a unified outlet before the outside world allows the entry of goods from any port or airport in the GCC countries and their transfer between the member states to unify the conditions and customs between all, and thus the transfer of goods within the GCC countries will be easy, smooth, and without any significant obstacles. This will stimulate the economic competitiveness of the member states and improve their competitive capabilities at the international level in trade and investment, which will raise economic efficiency and contribute to raising the economic growth rates of the GCC countries and improve the income levels of citizens and residents. 2
The Chief Economic Advisor at the Ministry of Economy and Planning in Saudi Arabia added: The steps of integration begin with the free zone, followed by the customs union, then the common market, and then the monetary union. What concerns us during this period is the achievement of the customs union, because it will be the turning point in economic integration between the GCC countries. As for the common market, which depends on the movement of individuals and money, it is expected that if the customs union is completed, it will not take time, especially since some of its conditions are met between the member states.

Al-Marzoqi explained: The economic strategies and visions of the GCC countries were built on export-based development, which has achieved success in the countries that adopted it, such as East Asian countries, unlike economic development based on import substitution, which has not achieved the desired success. For example, if we analyze the goals of Saudi Vision 2030, we notice the importance of economic openness to achieve them. Among the most important goals of Vision 2030 are increasing the percentage of the private sector’s contribution to the economy, increasing the percentage of non-oil exports, attracting foreign investment, economic diversification, and raising the level of individual income for citizens by providing highly skilled and semi-skilled jobs and reducing the percentage of unskilled labor in the labor market. International experiences have proven that countries that have adopted export support through economic openness to the world have been able to achieve the development goals that the economic vision in Saudi Arabia and the rest of the GCC countries seek to achieve. This means the need to integrate the Gulf economy with the global economy because increasing non-oil exports and attracting foreign investment will only come through greater openness with the economy.

Mal newspaper – January 3, 2024