ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have reached a consensus on the investment modalities, paving the path for the ratification of a much-awaited free trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), a development that has been pending for the last 19 years.
A high-powered delegation, led by Interim Commerce Minister Gohar Ejaz, held the final round of discussions with the GCC’s chief negotiator in Riyadh on Saturday. The goal was to finalise the investment segment of the FTA, a critical move preceding the GCC Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Doha on Sunday, where the FTA with Pakistan is expected to receive approval.

The agreed investment chapter is now set to be presented to the GCC ministers for approval, which was already included in the meeting’s agenda. The GCC Secretariat has the authority to sign the agreement on behalf of the six-member GCC countries. If approved, this will mark the first trade and investment agreement that the GCC has entered into with any country in the past 15 years.
The major decision among others will be the resolution of disputes locally within eight months before escalating them to the International Court of Arbitration. “Today, we have finalised the investment chapter of the FTA with the GCC team in Riyadh,” Mr Ejaz told Dawn via a telephone after the meeting.
Meeting of bloc’s FMs to approve FTA in Doha today
The minister said his team succeeded in creating a graduating approach by adding an eight-month period which will enable both investors for mutual settlement of disputes before going for arbitration to international courts.