His Excellency Dr. Tawfiq bin Fawzan Al-Rabiah, Minister of Commerce and Industry, issued a decision amending the regulations governing Saudi-Foreign Business Councils, with the aim of developing and strengthening relations between the business community in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and partner and friendly nations within a systematic framework that achieves the specific objectives set for relations with those countries. These regulations shall take effect from the date of their publication on the Ministry’s official website.
This stems from the Ministry’s desire to encourage increased exports through the exchange of information regarding both parties’ needs for goods and services, and organizing exhibitions in both countries, as well as communicating with the relevant authorities in both countries to improve the climate of cooperation between the two sides, overcome any obstacles they may encounter, and working to resolve commercial disputes that may arise between business owners through amicable means, and focusing on training programs and the transfer of technology and knowledge.
In amending the regulations, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry took into account the best international legislation and practices and the application of modern governance methods to ensure the effectiveness of these councils, It also took into account the views of experts and officials in relevant sectors, after it released a draft of the regulations this year to solicit public feedback.
Among the most important provisions in the amendment to the regulations is the encouragement of increased exports through communication, the exchange of information on the needs for goods and services, and the organization of exhibitions in both countries, in addition to establishing an executive committee alongside the council membership, with the committee comprising no fewer than five and no more than nine members, and requiring that a number of exporters from the other country be represented on the executive committee.
The new amendments included the creation of a website for each council to serve as a communication tool to highlight its activities, the names of its members, and matters related to its work, with the website to be updated periodically, in addition to the requirement that small and medium-sized enterprises be represented on the executive committee.
The regulations also stipulate that a council member may not serve as chair or vice-chair of more than one business council, nor may these two positions be combined; a business council member is entitled to serve on the executive committees of a maximum of two business councils.
It is worth noting that the regulations included 32 articles outlining the procedures for establishing business councils and their membership, the provisions of the executive committees of the business councils and the Coordination and Development Council, and the duties of the Secretariat of the Council of Chambers, as well as promoting the climate and opportunities for direct and indirect investment, and strengthening the Kingdom’s role and highlighting it as a commercial hub and an attractive environment for investment.
