Doha, April 23 (QNA) - The State of Qatar has participated in the preparatory meetings of the Undersecretaries of Ministries of Commerce and Industry in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, held virtually today.

HE Undersecretary of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Mohammed bin Hassan Al Malki represented the State of Qatar was at the meetings.

The Undersecretaries of Commerce from the GCC countries discussed several topics on the agenda of the 63rd preparatory meeting. These included updates on negotiations for free trade agreements with countries and international blocs, developments in commercial laws within the GCC countries (including regulations on competition, e-commerce, and digital commerce), the Gulf Virtual Business Incubator, and the General Secretariat's memorandum on the work of the committees affiliated with the Trade Cooperation Committee. These committees include the Small and Medium Enterprises and Entrepreneurship Committee, the Internal Trade Committee, the Consumer Protection Committee, and the Foreign Trade Committee. The meetings also addressed matters related to the Patent Office at the General Secretariat, and appropriate decisions and recommendations were made.

In the same context, Their Excellencies the Undersecretaries of the Ministries of Industry of the GCC countries discussed a host of topics on the draft agenda for the 48th preparatory meeting. Key among these was the finalization of the definition of a Gulf national product, including the Omani-Kuwaiti proposal to address localization standards across industrial sectors. They also discussed the draft regulations for exemptions for Gulf national products, penalties, and procedures related to the application of these standards, as well as lists of goods subject to collective protection.

The discussions also covered the needs and requirements in light of the launch of the Gulf Industrial Platform, a proposal to extend the decision to raise customs duties on reinforcing steel and steel coils, and the work of the Technical Secretariat Office for Combating Harmful Practices in International Trade. Furthermore, they reviewed the cooperation mechanism between the Industrial Cooperation Committee and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the results of a study to prepare and promote five joint Gulf industrial investment opportunities in priority industrial activities, and a study to identify critical basic products and raw materials in the Gulf industrial sector, adopting the necessary decisions and recommendations.

On the sidelines of the meetings, HE the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry participated in the second meeting of the Standing Committee for Patent Affairs, held virtually. The meeting included Their Excellencies the Undersecretaries, members of the Standing Committee for Patent Affairs in the GCC countries, and the Director General of the Patent Center at the General Secretariat of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf. Several topics were reviewed, most notably the patent office's operational model, the joint Gulf action strategy in the field of patents, the initiative to establish a Gulf patent platform and its estimated cost, as well as the exchange of expertise in the field of intellectual property.

His Excellency also participated in the first regular session of the Executive Bureau of the Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting for 2026, also held virtually. During this meeting, the agenda items were reviewed and the necessary recommendations were adopted. (QNA)