Saudi Arabia:New Zealand revives GCC free trade deal


Issue 1023 - 07 Oct 2016 | 2 minute read

Saudi and New Zealand officials held several meetings in late September, aimed at reviving plans for a free trade agreement (FTA). The previous round of negotiations ended without success in 2009, when the agreement was thought to have stalled in part because of the ‘sheepgate’ scandal, involving a ban on the live export of New Zealand sheep and a well-connected Saudi businessman. New Zealand trade minister Todd McClay met his counterpart Dr Majid Al-Qasabi in Riyadh on 28 September, after which McClay said there was “an extremely pleasing outcome from my mission to Saudi Arabia. We can now see a way forward towards the completion of the FTA”.

Want to read more?

Subscribe to Gulf States Newsletter

View subscription options

Join our community

Sign up for an account to gain:

  • Set up news alerts on the countries and sectors that matter to you.
  • Free access to newsletter articles under 100 words.
  • Free access to GSN View articles articles.


View a selection of Free articles

Explore subscription options

Follow us on Google News