Korea Holds 8th Official FTA Negotiations with Six GCC Countries Including Saudi Arabia and UAE

Negotiations by Sector on Goods, Services, Origin, and Government Procurement Held in Seoul from 23rd to 27th

The 8th official negotiation of the Korea-GCC Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between South Korea and the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries will be held in Seoul from the 23rd to the 27th.

The GCC is a regional cooperation organization consisting of six countries: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Oman, and Bahrain, conducting economic and security cooperation activities among its member states.

On the Korean side, a delegation of about 30 members from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and the Korea Customs Service will participate, led by Chief Negotiator Jang Seong-gil. On the GCC side, about 30 negotiators from the six member countries will attend, led by Chief Negotiator Raja Al Majoki, Senior Economic Advisor of Saudi Arabia.

South Korea and the GCC agreed to pursue the Korea-GCC FTA negotiations in March 2007 and held the first negotiation in July 2008, continuing up to the third official negotiation. However, the negotiations were temporarily suspended in 2010 at the request of the GCC side. After discussing ways to resume official negotiations, both sides restarted talks at the 4th official negotiation in March 2022 and have held a total of seven official negotiations through February of this year.

The Korean government plans to seek progress in negotiating the agreement texts by sector, including goods, services, digital trade, investment, rules of origin, customs clearance, government procurement, cooperation, trade remedies, and transparency, as well as market access negotiations covering goods and services, during the upcoming 8th negotiation.

An official from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy stated, "The Korea-GCC FTA will establish an institutional framework to further strengthen trade and cooperation with the GCC, a major economic community in the Middle East where key oil-producing countries are concentrated, thereby enhancing our energy security and providing an opportunity to expand and develop supply chains with the six GCC countries."

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