Saudi Gazette report

JAKARTA —The General Authority for Foreign Trade (GAFT), represented by Deputy Governor of International Organizations and Agreements, Farid Al-Asali, headed Saudi Arabia’s team participating in the first round of negotiations on the Free Trade Agreement between the GCC countries and Indonesia in the Indonesian capital Jakarta.

The Saudi team supervises and follows up on the progress of negotiations to ensure their compatibility with Saudi Arabia’s trade objectives and policies. The team also participates in trade negotiations to present the country's negotiating positions.

The Saudi delegation consists of 9 technical teams (goods, services, investment, general texts and provisions, e-commerce, intellectual property, government procurement, rules of origin, and economic evaluation).

These teams, which include 46 government agencies, work to prepare and coordinate Saudi Arabia’s negotiating positions, viewpoints, initiatives and proposals in the World Trade Organization and free trade agreements and submit the necessary reports to the Saudi negotiating team in this regard.

Trade exchange between Saudi Arabia and Indonesia during 2023 amounted to about $7 billion. Mineral products and organic chemicals were the most prominent Saudi exports, while cars and their parts and animal or vegetable greases and oils were the most prominent Indonesian imports to the country.

The Foreign Trade Authority (GAFT) works to enhance Saudi Arabia’s international trade gains, increase its international presence and effective participation in a number of international organizations; to ensure the achievement of common goals and sustainable development.