MUSCAT: The G20 Trade & Investment Ministers’ Meeting (TIMM) held in the vibrant city of Jaipur in India, was attended by Qais al Yousef, Oman’s Minister of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, along with senior officials.
It concluded on August 25 with a groundbreaking consensus on five concrete and action-oriented deliverables on the digitalisation of trade documents; enhanced access to information for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs); a G20 Generic Mapping Framework for global value chains (GVCs) containing key building blocks of data, analysis and representation of GVC data; the voluntary sharing of best practices on Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) for professional services; and the introduction of a 2023 G20 Standards dialogue.
These have now been adopted in the ‘Outcome Document’ of the Trade & Investment Ministerial Meeting.
Welcoming the results of this high-level meeting, Al Yousef stated: “With discussions focused on issues related to a fair, sustainable and transparent multilateral trading system, this G20 meeting was highly productive. Collective international efforts such as this are indispensable in ensuring this is achieved. I was proud of the Omani delegation’s interventions over the two days, in particular with regards to WTO reforms, the strengthening of global supply chains and paperless trade. Indeed, I fully expect the outcomes to be beneficial for Omani businesses as they enter and expand their operations in the global markets.”
Al Yousef went on to highlight how “Oman looks forward to joining G20 members at the 13th World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ministerial Conference in Abu Dhabi next year and to the introduction of new measures that will safeguard the future of the WTO as the custodian of the multilateral trading system.”
Attended by trade ministers from G20 countries and guest including the US, UK, China, Canada, Indonesia, Japan, EU, Republic of Korea, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, France, Bangladesh, Egypt, Netherlands, Singapore and the UAE, the Jaipur meeting provided an important opportunity for the Omani Delegation to further trade and investment discussions with key trading partners. These included: Piyush Goyal, India’s Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution & Textiles; Wang Shouwen, China’s International Trade Representative & Vice Minister of Commerce; Kemi Badenoch, UK’s Secretary of State for Business and Trade; María Pagán, Deputy United States Trade Representative; Marcio Elias Rosa, Brazil’s Undersecretary for Foreign Trade; Majid al Qasabi, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Commerce; and Vladimir Ilichev, Russia’s Deputy Minister of Economic Development.
Following the G20 meeting, and accompanied by representatives from OMRAN, Oman Chamber of Commerce & Industry, SEZAD and Hydrom, Minister Al Yousef participated at the B20 India Summit in New Delhi which under the theme of Responsible, Accelerated, Innovative, Sustainable & Equitable Businesses. he took part in Friday evening’s ‘Trade Ministers panel’ with counterparts from Asia, Europe, the US, Australia and Latin America.
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