GSO Participates in the Fourth Trade and Investment Dialogue Between the Cooperation Council and the European Union
GCC Standardization Organization (GSO) participates in the Fourth Dialogue on Trade and Investment between the Gulf Cooperation Council and European Union
GSO has participated in the Fourth Dialogue on Trade and Investment which was held between the Gulf Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf and European Union by presenting two working papers; one on GSO Strategy for 2021-2025, and the other on the Role of GCC Standards and Technical Regulations in facilitating trade exchange between the two Parties.
The Fourth Dialogue on Trade and Investment between GCC and European Union was held in the headquarter of the European Commission in Brussels, the Belgian Capital. The aim of the dialogue was to discuss the current developments in trade exchange and investment between the two Parties in the aftermath of the continued efforts to combat the Corona pandemic and its economic repercussions.
Issues discussed were trade and investment matters, future cooperation on trade and investment, regulatory aspects and commercial laws, raising the level of representation of expertise and new developments between the two Parties, benefiting from the experience of the European Union in identifying standards for commodities, and enhancing cooperation aspects between the two sides in the related fields.
The GCC delegation was headed by Dr. Abdulaziz Bin Hamad al-Uwaisheg the Assistant Undersecretary of the Political Affairs and Negotiations. The European delegation was headed by Leon Delfax the Director-General in charge of the Directorate General for Trade at the European Commission. The meeting was also attended by Ambassador Yousuf Khalifa Alsadah Head of GCC Mission at the European Union in Brussels.
The dialogue was attended by number of experts from the GCC member States, Gulf Cooperation Council GCC-STAT, Federation of GCC Chambers, Bureau of the Technical Secretariat for combating harmful practices, Intellectual Property Training Center. From the European side, the dialogue was attended by specialized Experts from the European Commission External Labor Body, and Federation of European Businesses.
The meeting focused and shed light on the investment policies in the European Union and the GCC and investment priorities with a view to enhance cooperation relations, exploring investment opportunities, boosting trade exchange and investment between the two sides under the umbrella of economic diversity programmes.
In this meeting, GSO presented two working papers; the first one included GSO’s objectives, tasks, activities, and achievements in the various fields of standardization, and the signed agreements concluded with a more than 65 regional and international organizations with the aim of harmonizing the standards and verification procedures of conformity to facilitate Trade exchange, removing technical barriers to trade, and exchanging experiences in this field, in accordance with international practices. The presentation also addressed the Standardization Organization’s strategy for the years 2021-2025. The existing cooperation between the GSO and the European Standardization Organizations (CEN-CENELEC-ETSI), and future areas of focus between the two sides.
The second presentation explained the GSO’s efforts in developing the Gulf standards and Technical Regulations, the product safety scheme in the GCC common Market, halal products and services, and the role of Gulf standards and technical regulations and conformity procedures in facilitating trade exchange between the GCC Cooperation Council and the European Union, as well as its role in supporting the free circulation and movement of products in the Gulf common market and global markets. The paper also highlighted the efforts of the Gulf technical committees in developing standards and the on-going technical cooperation between several Gulf technical committees and the corresponding European technical committees, which enhances cooperation in developing and harmonizing Gulf and European standards.
