Public Authority for Industry Participates in Gulf Industrial and Standardization Cooperation Meetings in Bahrain
Manama, Oct 6 (KUNA) -- Kuwait, represented by Minister of State for Economic Affairs and Investment and Acting Minister of Commerce and Industry Abdulaziz Al-Marzouq and Acting Director General of the Public Authority for Industry Shamalan Al-Jahdali, participated in the meetings of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Industrial Cooperation Committee and the GCC Ministerial Committee for Standardization Affairs in Manama on Tuesday.
The Public Authority for Industry said in a statement received by the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) that the 57th session of the Industrial Cooperation Committee discussed a number of topics and files aimed at enhancing GCC industrial integration and supporting the competitiveness of the industrial sector in the GCC states.
It clarified that among the foremost of these topics and files were the definition of the GCC national product, localization and value-added standards, including the Omani-Kuwaiti proposal, as well as a study on establishing GCC strategic storage zones for food, pharmaceuticals, and other needs.
The meeting also discussed the executive plan for lists of goods subject to collective protection and revised controls for exempting industrial inputs from customs duties. Furthermore, it reviewed developments at the GCC Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution and digital transformation in Gulf factories, in line with technological advancements and supporting the GCC states’ trends toward developing the industrial sector.
In the same context, Kuwait participated in the 12th session of the GCC Ministerial Committee for Standardization Affairs, which discussed several important topics, most notably the adoption of draft GCC technical regulations and the approval of the budget of the GCC Standardization Organization for the fiscal year 2027. The meeting also reviewed the organization’s chairman’s report on its operations, activities, achievements, and outputs of the GCC technical committees’ work from April to August 2026.
The meeting also explored ways to develop the GCC standardization system and enhance coordination and integration among national standardization bodies, thereby contributing to the harmonization of specifications and technical regulations, supporting intra-trade, reducing technical barriers to trade, and enhancing the competitiveness of GCC products and services.
Kuwait’s participation in the two meetings underscores its commitment to supporting the course of joint GCC cooperation in the fields of industry and standardization, enhancing economic integration among GCC states, and contributing to the development of the industrial sector, raising the competitiveness of GCC products, and supporting sustainable economic development. (End) K.N.A. / M.A.A.
