Saudi Arabia way to world trade organzaton

Saudi Arabia and the World Trade Organization

1 . Executive summary

Saudi Arabia is the land of centuries of strong culture and religion Being the largest country of the Arabian Peninsula , Saudi Arabia is internationally acknowledged as the land of the two holy mosques , a reference to Mecca and Medina , Islam 's two holiest places ' As a state Saudi Arabia is a monarchy ruled by the direct descendents of the first Arabian king and it 's governed by the Qur 'an

The country possesses several characteristics that make it a dream destination

to any tourist but these exact features drastically differentiate the country from Europe and The United States of America The major gap between these cultures has prevented Saudi Arabia for several years from joining the civilized countries on numerous domains the most relevant of which being the World Trade Organization

The economy of Saudi Arabia is primarily based on the extraction of natural petroleum , the country being the world 's largest petroleum producer and exporter , with 24 per cent of the global petroleum reserves . Furthermore , petroleum trade accounts for more than 90 per cent in the overall export activities , 45 per cent of the Saudi Arabia gross domestic product and the taxes adherent make up 75 per cent of the entire state budget

Since petroleum represents the pillar of the Arabian economy , when petroleum extracts are low , the economy rapidly declines . The dependence of economy on petroleum has made Saudi Arabia officials state their intent to develop and industrialize other sectors in support of a growing economy . In doing so , they began with financing higher technologies to extract petroleum and allowing privatization of other sectors , such as communication or energy

2 . Impediments in Saudi Arabia joining the WTO

Saudi Arabia put forward their adhere application on the 13th of June 1993 , but they were only approved twelve years later , more precisely on the 11th of December 2005

The main reason for which the process of joining the World Trade Organization lasted for more than a decade was the protectionist nature of Saudi Arabia 's economy . The Arabian country has been for centuries a closed economy which produced internally all the items they needed , the petroleum exports being the only contact with the outside world . By adopting a protectionist policy , Saudi Arabia had extremely limited trade contracts with other countries , a conduct opposed to WTO regulations

Other elements of concern in the adhere process regarded policies promoted by Saudi Arabia officials regarding religion and human rights policies contrary to those of international organizations . For instance international human rights organizations have objected to the Islamic judiciary system and its punishments . There have been numerous situations when the accused were condemned to corporal punishments such as violent beating and stoning , as well as to violet deaths

Furthermore , another issue of complaint from the human rights organizations regarded the way in which Arab women were treated According to Islamic laws , women belonged at home and their main role was to serve their husbands...