General Secretariat - Doha
His Excellency Mr Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), announced the conclusion of negotiations for the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the GCC and New Zealand. He stated that this agreement confirms the GCC countries' keenness to enhance their economic and trade relations with countries and global blocs.
This announcement came during the signing of the joint statement concluding the negotiations for the FTA between the GCC and New Zealand. This took place on the sidelines of the 67th meeting of the GCC Trade Cooperation Committee on Thursday, October 31, 2024, in the Qatari capital, Doha.
The meeting was chaired by His Excellency Shaikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Qassim Al Thani, Minister of Commerce and Industry of the State of Qatar-current session president-, and attended by Their Excellencies the Ministers of Trade of the GCC countries.
His Excellency the Secretary General pointed out that this agreement represents a shared desire by both sides to develop and deepen the distinguished relations between them. "The volume of trade exchange between the GCC countries and New Zealand reached approximately US$2.9 billion in 2023, with GCC exports valued at US$1.75 billion and imports at US$1.19 billion. From 2020 to 2024, both sides worked on a joint work plan covering several vital areas, such as political dialogue, trade, industry and investment, economic, financial and monetary cooperation, agriculture and food security, transport and communications, tourism, as well as training and development," he said.
His Excellency expressed his hope that this agreement, upon its entry into force, will contribute to enhancing trade exchange and economic cooperation between our countries, increasing investments, and expanding cooperation in areas of mutual interest, for the benefit and well-being of our peoples, and serving the common interests of both sides.