Alexandre Rocha, special envoy*
Rio de Janeiro – The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) – the bloc that includes Saudi Arabia, Bahrein, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Oman – considers relations with the Mercosur strategic. "Part of our strategic vision includes increasing relations with other important blocs around the world, and the Mercosur is one of them," said yesterday (18) the undersecretary general for Economic Affairs at the GCC, Mohamed Obaid Al-Mazrooei.
Al-Mazrooei and the foreign ministers of the South American group signed, during the Mercosur Summit, in Rio de Janeiro, southeastern Brazil, a declaration about the progress of free trade negotiations between both blocs. The document says that the trade agreement "is one of the main priorities of the negotiation agenda of each region, considering their global relevance, the dimensions of the economies of both blocs, and the concrete business opportunities to be opened." The undersecretary congratulated the negotiators on both sides for the effort that is being made up to now "and for having completed over 90% of the agreement".
According to the statement, the documents that are almost complete are "the opening text and the general points of the agreement, the chapter about trade of goods – which shows the parameters for profound trade liberalization over a period of eight years -, the chapter about services – which forecasts liberalization of service markets greater than those already agreed by each party in the World Trade Organization (WTO) -, the chapter about investment, which establishes a benchmark for national treatment and the liberalization of market access in this important area, and the institutional and final statements."
According to the document, annexes about controversy solution, safeguards and schedules for engagements regarding services and investment will be added to the texts that have already been negotiated. The declaration guarantees that the treaty will be concluded by June, to be signed at the meeting of the foreign ministers of the GCC, to take place in Saudi Arabia.
The Brazilian Foreign Minister, Celso Amorim, added that the agreement is "very ambitious", especially as it covers three sectors (goods, services and investment). "It is not an abstract work, but a work based on commercial and economic relations that have been growing," stated Amorim. In the case of Brazil alone, bilateral trade with the countries of the Gulf (exports plus imports) rose from US$ 1.7 billion in 2000 to US$ 5 billion in 2006.
Amorim added that the countries of the GCC are buyers of products that the countries of the Mercosur produce, like meats, foods in general and greater added value products. "At the same time they have an important potential to be providers of capitals and investment in our region," he declared.
To the Brazilian Foreign Minister, negotiations with the Arabs show the changes that there are being made to the global trade geography. "Negotiations like these, a reality that seemed so distant, are now closer and closer," he said.
Mission
Al-Mazrooei also stated that the secretary general at the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Abdul Rahman Al-Atiyyah, plans to visit the Mercosur region with a delegation of businessmen in the near future.
The declaration was also signed by the foreign ministers of Argentina, Jorge Taiana, Paraguay, Rubén Ramírez Lezcano, and Uruguay, Reinaldo Gargano.
*Translated by Mark Ament
