DOHA: Undersecretaries of the ministries of commerce of the GCC member countries convened their 58th meeting in Doha on Tuesday to prepare for the 66th ministerial meeting of the committee on trade cooperation. The delegation of Kuwait is led by Undersecretary of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry Zyad Al-Najem.

The preparatory meeting focused on the plan to set up an ad hoc committee on investment and the trade legislation in the GCC, including the law on consumer protection and the regulation of competition. Undersecretary of the Qatari Ministry of Commerce and Industry Mohammad Al-Maleli, the chair of the meeting, said the conferees continue their efforts to promote GCC joint action and realize their common aspirations for economic development.

He thanked the Sultanate of Oman for the efforts it made while chairing the GCC committees on trade and industry cooperation in the last year, which led to fruitful results. The meeting reviewed the blueprint for a framework for the GCC e-trade code and the GCC franchise code. The blueprint will be tabled at the 66th meeting of the committee on trade cooperation, to be held in Doha this May, for endorsement by the ministers of commerce and industry. — AFP

Today’s meeting also discussed the progress made by the committees on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), entrepreneurship, domestic trade, and foreign trade, as well as the latest developments of the free trade talks in regional blocs. Meanwhile, undersecretaries of the GCC ministries of commerce convened their 44th meeting to prepare for the 52nd ministerial meeting of the committee on industrial cooperation. Kuwait was represented by the acting Director General of the Public Authority for Industry, Mohammad Al-Adwani. - KUNA