Business News
New Zealand begins trade-pact talks with Gulf states
Jul 25, 2007, 5:03 GMT
Wellington - New Zealand and the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council will launch negotiations on a free trade pact in Wellington this week, it was announced on Wednesday.
Trade Minister Phil Goff said his officials and a delegation from the Gulf states - Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman - would begin talks on Thursday.
Goff said the GCC states represented a major trading partner for New Zealand, growing at about 10 per cent a year, and that the relationship would be enhanced by a free-trade agreement.
He said the Gulf states were an important market for food and beverages, with total exports worth nearly 800 million New Zealand dollars (about 640 million US dollars) last year, but education services and tourism had also become an important part of the trading relationship.
Goff said it was the first time a delegation from the GCC states had visited New Zealand.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-AgenturCOMMENT
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