WT/REG460/M/1  
 
17 October  2022 
(22-7773) Page: 1/3 
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements  
Hundred and  Fourth  Session    
 
 
FREE TRADE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL (GCC)  
MEMBER STATES AND SINGAPORE  
(SERVICES ) 
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF  22 SEPTEMBER  2022 
Chairm an: Ambassador H.E. Mr. Taeho LEE (Republic of Korea ) 
1.1.  The 10 4th Session of the Committee on Regional Trade Agreements (hereinafter "CRTA" or the 
"Committee") was convened in Airgram WTO/AIR/RTA/ 29/Rev.1  dated 1 2 September  2022.  
1.2.  Under Agenda Item F.V of the Session, the CRTA considered the Free Trade Agreement between 
the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Member States and Singapore, services (hereinafter "the 
Agreement"). The Chairman  stated that the factual presentation had been prepared by the 
Secretariat on its own responsibility in full c onsultation with the Parties, in accordance with 
paragraph 7(b) of the Transparency Mechanism for Regional Trade Agreements (document 
WT/L/671).  
1.3.  The Chairman  noted that the consideration by the CRTA of the services aspects of the Free 
Trade Agreement (FTA)  between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Member States and Singapore 
had been subject to some delays. The Committee now had a complete package of documents that 
would permit it to discharge its mandate. He saw this as proof that the Chair's consultation s could 
be effective.  
1.4.  The Chairman  recalled that the Agreement  had entered  into force on 1 September 2013. It had 
been notified to the WTO by the Parties on 30 June 2015 under Article V:7(a) of the GATS as an 
agreement providing for the liberalisation of trade in services between the m (document 
S/C/N/807/Rev.1). The text of the Agreement, together with its Annexes, was available on the 
Parties' official websites and in the WTO RTA database.  The goods part of the Agreement had been  
notified under the Enabli ng Clause  and would therefore be considered at a meeting of the Committee 
on Trade and Development, tentatively scheduled in November. The factual presentation  in 
document WT/REG460/1, and questions and replies  in document WT/REG460/2  had been distributed  
in advance of the meeting.  
1.5.   The representative of  the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on behalf of the Cooperation Council for 
the Arab States of the GCC  said that t he GCC and the Republic of Singapore  had enjoyed a long-
standing  friendship and strong economic and political  ties. This relationship had promote d and 
strengthen ed the multilateral trading system  in a manner conducive to the  development of regional 
and international cooperation , economic and trade relations  through the  liberalization and expansion 
of trade in goods and services in  their common interest and for their mutual benefit  as well as to 
promote the transfer of technology .  
1.6.  Accordingly,  the Parties had signed a n FTA which cover ed trade in goods and services on 
15 December 2008 at Doha, Qatar . The Agreement had entered into force on  the 1 September 2013 
and was the first F TA signed by the GCC and the second FTA by Singapore with a Party from the 
Middle East region . 
1.7.  GCC countries w ere Singapore 's top trading partner s in the Middle East with the volume of 
merchandise trade at over USD 31 billion in 2021. Singapore's largest import  from the GCC countries WT/REG460/M/1  
 
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  in 2021 was mineral fuels  which accounted  for 82% of total GCC imports from Singapore. Mechanical 
Appliances were Singapore's largest  export to GCC countries , comprising  25% of its total exports to 
GCC countries in 2021.  The Agreement consist ed of 10 chapters: General Provisions , Trade in Goods , 
Rules of Origin , Customs Procedures , Trade in Services , Government P rocurement , Electronic 
Commerce , Cooperation , Settlement of Disputes , and Final Provisions . 
1.8.  In conclusion, he thanked Singapore for its efforts to finalize the Agreement and for their 
excellent cooperation in the preparation s for the consideration of the Agreement by the C ommittee . 
He also thanked WTO Members for showing their interest by participat ion in the meeting  and the 
WTO Secretariat for issuing the factual presentation on th e Agreement and for prepar ing the 
meeting.  
1.9.  The representative of  Singapore  stated that Singapore and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) 
had been  longstanding trade and economic part ners. The Agreement , signed in December 2008, 
was the first FTA which the GCC had signed with a non -Middle East partner. This had been  an 
important milestone in GCC -Singapore relations.  At the time of signing, the Agreement  was not only 
symbolic of the str ong and growing economic relations between the GCC and Singapore, but also 
demonstrated a recognition of the importance of each other 's economies in their respective regions. 
Over the years, Singapore 's trade with the GCC had remained robust and diversified along with their 
economies. The Agreement  had enabled commercial interests to grow, represented by the steady 
increase in trade in services and investments between Singapore and GCC members.   
1.10.   Singapore and the GCC were like-minded partners. Despite differences in the composition of 
their economies, there was shared impetus to pursue new frontiers in areas such as the digital and 
green economies. While Singapore 's trade with the GCC had been  hit hard by the COVID -19 
pandemic in 2020, it had quickly bounced back to pre -pandemic levels. During the pandemic, there 
had been  an uptick in Singapore 's engagements with GCC Members on trade facilitation initiatives 
in the digital economy. For instance, in November 2021, Singapore and t he UAE had successfully 
piloted the digital transfer of electronic Bills of Lading across both jurisdictions via Singapore 's 
Infocomm and Media Development Authority 's (IMDA) Trade Trust  framework. Global climate change 
mitigation efforts had also created opportunities for Singapore and the GCC Members to strengthen 
their economic exchanges in areas such as renewable energy and low -carbon technologies. In 
December 2021, Singapore had signed  an MoU with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to cooperate in 
the energy sector, which include d collaborations in renewable energy and energy efficiency.  
1.11.   Overall, the Agreement  had provided a strong foundation for their bilateral trade and 
economic relations, which Singapore and the GCC would  continue to leverage and build upo n. It had 
also helped to provide stability for Singapore and its companies in exploring the burgeoning 
economic opportunities in the GCC market. Singapore was confident that its partnership with the 
GCC would  continue to strengthen in years to come.  
1.12.   Lastly, she extended her  thanks to her colleague s from Saudi Arabia for their close 
cooperation in preparing to present the Agreement  at the Committee and to other WTO Members 
for their interest in it. She also  express ed her heartfelt thanks to the WTO Secretariat for preparing 
the factual presentation and other work leading up to the presentation.   
1.13.   The Chair opened the floor to Members  for general comments, comments on any section of 
the factual presentation as well as on th e written replies.  
1.14.   The representative of  the European Union  indicated that she had taken good note of the 
information and data that had been shared  on the Agreement. She thanked the Parties for their 
presentations and hoped  that the implementation of the Agreement would be very fruitful for the 
Parties.  
1.15.   The representative of Canada  thanked the Parties for their efforts to bring th e transparency 
process to a fruitful conclusion for their regional trade agreement.  
1.16.   The representative of Japan  thanked the Part ies for their comprehensive and informative 
presentations. He also thanked the Secretariat for its efforts in preparing the factual presentation 
and wished the Parties success in the implementation of the Agreement. Japan belie ved that they 
would  further s trengthen the multilateral trading system.  WT/REG460/M/1  
 
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  1.17.   The Chairman  noted that the consideration of the Trade Continuity Agreement between the 
GCC Member States and Singapore  had allowed the Committee to clarify a number of questions and 
conclude oral discussion of the RTA in accordance with paragraph 11 of the Transparency 
Mechanism. Any delegations wishing to ask follow -up questions were invited to forward submissions 
in writ ing to the Secretariat by 29 September 2022 and the Parties were asked to submit replies in 
writing by no later than 13 October 2022. In accordance with paragraph 13 of the Transparency 
Mechanism all written submissions, as well as the minutes of the meeti ng would be circulated 
promptly, in all WTO official languages, and made available on the WTO website.  
1.18.   The Committee took note  of the comments made.  
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