Kuwait accedes to Arab Trade Liberalization Agreement

• The agreement stipulates that each party must grant services and service suppliers from any other party the same treatment as it provides for similar services and service suppliers from any other country, without less favorable conditions.

Decree-Law No. 159 of 2024 has been issued, formally approving the State of Kuwait’s accession to the Agreement on the Liberalization of Trade in Services among Arab States, according to Q-8 Press.

The explanatory note stated, “Based on the desire to gradually liberalize trade in services between Arab countries, and following subsequent rounds of multilateral negotiations aimed at enhancing the interests of the parties based on mutual benefit, while achieving a balance between rights and duties, and considering the objectives of national policies and the situation of the least developed Arab countries, as well as the importance of liberalizing trade in services between Arab countries in line with contemporary economic trends in regional and international markets, the Arab countries agreed to conclude this agreement.”

The agreement consists of thirty-five articles divided into six parts. It stipulates that each party must grant services and service suppliers from any other party the same treatment as it provides for similar services and service suppliers from any other country, without less favorable conditions.

Any party may maintain procedures that are inconsistent with the agreement, provided that such procedures are in consultation with the obligations of the designated parties to the World Trade Organization (WTO).