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Saudi Arabia May Get Early Entry to WTO

Saudi Arabia, the top global oil exporter, won the go-ahead from major trading nations on Friday to join the World Trade Organization, probably by mid-December, after 12 years of tough on-off negotiations. A working party, including all major trading nations in the WTO, approved the final package of Saudi entry terms and agreed to pass them on for endorsement to a meeting of the body`s ruling General Council on November 11.

The talks have dragged on partly because of domestic fears that WTO free trading rules would limit Saudi Arabia`s right to restrict imports of goods prohibited under Islam, including pork, alcohol or what it regards as pornography. Further, it took years for the United States and some others to accept that Saudi Arabia was sufficiently open economically to join.

WTO accession for Saudi Arabia is expected to boost foreign investment, providing funds for diversification of the largely oil-based economy of the kingdom, and bring new export opportunities for Saudi firms, especially in the petrochemical industry.