Arab Saudi: Cabinet lauds Turkish move to scrap anti-dumping duty

28/03/2012 12:00 - 433 Views

The Council of Ministers yesterday commended the Turkish government’s decision to lift an anti-dumping duty imposed on Saudi petrochemical exports. It said the Kingdom’s trade practices comply with World Trade Organization (WTO) regulations.

“The Turkish decision reflects the strong relations between the two countries,” Culture and Information Minister Abdul Aziz Khoja said following the Cabinet meeting, chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah.

The minister announced the cancellation of all anti-dumping duties imposed by various countries on Saudi petrochemical exports. Last January India said it was scrapping a 6.5 percent anti-dumping duty on polypropylene imported from Saudi suppliers.

Before that, the European Commission said it would withdraw anti-dumping and anti-subsidy cases against Saudi polyethylene terephthalate exports. Prince Abdul Aziz bin Salman, assistant minister for petroleum affairs and head of a high-level team appointed by King Abdullah to deal with anti-dumping issues, has played an important role in canceling the duties. Khoja said the Cabinet reviewed the latest developments at national, regional and international levels and reiterated its support for all efforts aimed at establishing global peace and stability.

“The Cabinet welcomed the resolutions adopted by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) during its last meeting in Geneva and its condemnation of Israel’s human rights violations in occupied Palestinian territories,” the minister said.

During the Geneva meeting, 300 international organizations signed a human rights statement calling for the lifting of restrictions on the movement of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. The statement summarized the suffering of Palestinians in the West Bank due to the unjustified Israeli restrictions on their lives.

The UNHCR emphasized the Palestinians’ right to determine their future and urged member countries to support the Palestinians to establish an independent state. It condemned the continuation of Israeli settlement in Palestinian territories.

The UN body had called for an independent international inquiry into the repercussions of Israeli settlements on the civilian, political, social, economic and cultural rights of the Palestinians.

The Cabinet also denounced the terrorist attacks on the French cities of Toulouse and Montauban that killed six people. It reiterated the Kingdom’s rejection of all forms of terrorism. The Cabinet conveyed the Kingdom’s condolences to the French government and people.Speaking about other decisions adopted by the Cabinet, Khoja said the meeting endorsed an agreement between the Saudi Interior Ministry and the Finance Monitoring Unit in the Netherlands signed on Feb. 21, 2011 to confront money laundering and terror financing.

The Cabinet approved another agreement with Romania for the avoidance of double taxation and prevention of tax evasion, which was signed on April 26, 2011. It authorized Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Ali Al-Naimi to hold talks with his Jordanian counterpart to reach an agreement on technical cooperation in the geological and mining fields.

The Cabinet renewed the membership of Saeed bin Jibran Al-Qahtani on the Saudi Geological Survey’s board of directors for three years and appointed Muhammad bin Eissa Al-Dabbagh and Muhammad bin Hussein Basyuni as new board members for three years. The Cabinet also appointed Khaled bin Muhammad Al-Sudairy as secretary of the Riyadh Provincial Council;

Muhammad bin Ibrahim Al-Shugairan minister plenipotentiary at the Foreign Ministry; Yousuf bin Muhammad Al-Difae adviser at the Ministry of Transport; and Fahd bin Muhammad Al-Adel consultant civil engineer at the Youth Welfare Presidency.

By Riyadh

Source: arabnews.com