GCC ministers and high-level officials have participated at the 65th Trade Cooperation Committee to explore the future of e-commerce.
The issues convered included creating a working paper on creating a permanent committee on investment issues, the framework of a proposed 6+1 meeting of GCC commerce and industry ministers with China, the streamlining of trade laws within the GCC, amendments to the Consumer Protection Law and the Competition Law and the formulation of a unified legislative framework governing e-commerce across the Gulf region.
The ministerial committee agreed to prepare a unified mandatory legislative framework for electronic commerce in the GCC states, based on flexible principles that help address the challenges that have been identified.
Also deliberated upon was a memorandum from the GCC General Secretariat outlining the recommendations of the Trade Cooperation Committee, which includes subcommittees for SMEs, consumer protection and internal trade.
The Trade Cooperation Committee, in the presence of Nigel Huddleston, the British Minister of International Trade, also discussed the current position regarding the status of ongoing negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement between the GCC and the UK.
Oman’s Minister of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, Qais bin Mohammed al Yousef, commended the significant economic development witnessed in the GCC countries guided by the visions of the GCC leaders and supported by the GCC General Secretariat.
The e-commerce market in GCC is projected to grow by 10.29 per cent between 2023 and 2027, resulting in a market volume of $41.97 billion at the end of the period, Statista reports.
