Newsletter No. 486
News-Analysis
January 19, 2007

 

THE SECOND ROUND OF JAPAN-GCC FTA TALKS TO BE HELD THIS WEEKEND IN RIYADH

Reports and announcements have emerged that Japan will hold its second round of FTA talks with the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council for two days starting on the 21st. Most of the basic facts are available in the official MOFA statement below.

We may add to the statement below that Japan’s ambassador to the UAE, Takuma Hatano, told reporters in Abu Dhabi that, “All the critical and substantial issues related to the agreement have been already resolved, and, accordingly, the substance of the agreement should be final by the end of 2007.” If his assessment is correct, then there is apparently little drama to report here: the Japan-GCC FTA is basically a done deal.

Everyone knows that Japan imports most of its oil from the GCC countries, but less appreciated is that in return Japan exports many cars and other vehicles to these countries. In fact, a recent report in Gulf News reveals that there are an estimated six million cars in the GCC countries, of which no less than 70% are Japanese. In the UAE, the car market is said to be expanding by about 10% annually.

If oil prices remain high, and the Gulf states avoid war or revolution in the next few years, then the future looks bright for Japanese trade with the Arab Gulf countries.

OFFICIAL MOFA STATEMENT: THE SECOND ROUND OF THE NEGOTIATIONS FOR THE FREE TRADE AGREEMENT TALKS WITH THE GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL
January 17, 2007

The second round of the negotiations for the Free Trade Agreement between Japan and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), composed of six countries -- the Kingdom of Bahrain, the State of Kuwait, the Sultanate of Oman, the State of Qatar, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates -- will be held in Saudi Arabia (Riyadh) on January 21 (Sun) and 22 (Mon).

Mr. Masaharu Kohno, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Shinsuke Sugiyama, Deputy Director-General (DG), Middle Eastern and African Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and other co-chairs, Deputy-DG level officials from ministries concerned, will participate in the negotiations on the Japanese side. The GCC delegation will be headed by Dr. Hamad Bin Sulayman al-Bazai, General Coordinator of the Negotiation, Head of the Delegation and concurrently Deputy Minister of Finance for Economic Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

At the second round of the negotiations, there will be a broad array of exchange of views and consultations on such fields as trade in goods and services, rules of origin, customs procedures, aiming at reaching an early conclusion of the negotiations.