Bilateral agreement pertaining to access to markets in the sectors of goods trade and services as regards the accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) was signed on Friday in Washington between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States of America, announced the Minister of Commerce and Industry Dr. Hashim bin Abdullah Yamani, leader of Saudi Arabia's negotiating team in charge of his country's bid to join the WTO. He said this round of decisive negotiations which the Saudi technical negotiating team has entered with his U.S. counterpart, which lasted around five months, has come, thanks to Almighty Allah, as a result of the visit of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz and meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush in Texas three months ago. The great success which has been achieved in the negotiations, has also come on the eve of the participation of Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz, the Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, in the United Nations General Assembly's meetings in New York, Yamani added. This brings to 38 the number of countries who signed bilateral agreements with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to pave the way for its accession to the WTO, he said. (More details to come)
