Palestinian Minister of Economy Khaled Al-Asili announced on Sunday that Saudi Arabia will allow the introduction of Palestinian products that are not food into the Saudi market without any inspection, and this after signing an agreement between the two parties. In a statement to the press, the minister described this agreement as an “extremely important step”, and explained that the agreement is the result of prolonged efforts that included mutual recognition of the Saudi and Palestinian specifications.
Al-Asili pointed out that the Palestinian products are adapted to the Saudi specifications, so they can enter the markets of the Gulf countries without any preliminary tests. The Palestinian minister brought a number of examples of non-food Palestinian products that have been allowed to enter the Saudi market: stone and marble, the products of the leather, plastic and tile industries that have so far been prevented from entering the Gulf markets.
Al-Asili added that until the current agreement, only a few Palestinian products managed to penetrate the Saudi market.