RIYADH: Saudi Arabia will attend the 57th session of the UN Commission on International Trade Law, which will run until July 12 at the world body’s headquarters in New York, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Thursday.
The Kingdom will be represented at the meeting by the National Center for Competitiveness. In addition, experts from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Trade, the Ministry of Transport and Logistics Services, the Ministry of Investment, the General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises, the Appeals Committee and the Bankruptcy Commission will participate.
Deputy Minister of Commerce Abdulaziz Al-Duhaim, who also heads the Saudi delegation, spoke about the partnership between the Kingdom and the United Nations, represented by the Office of Legal Affairs.
He noted that the partnership has resulted in financial contributions to the UNCITRAL Trust Fund, which has helped support many legislative and procedural developments in the Kingdom’s trade and investment environment.
He added that this cooperation had also led to several legislative successes, notably the Kingdom’s accession to the UN Convention on the International Sale of Goods and the signing of the UN Convention on the International Effects of Judicial Ship Sales.
This also resulted in the development of numerous new trading system projects in the Kingdom, including the Commercial Transactions System project, the Commercial Registry System project, the Trade Names System project and the introduction of rules regulating cross-border bankruptcy proceedings.
Al-Duhaim said the Kingdom will continue to work on strengthening its legislative, commercial and economic environment and seek to adopt the best global practices and experiences within the framework of the provisions of Islamic Sharia, the provisions of its fundamental systems and legal principles, its strategic interests and priorities, and its international partnerships and cooperation in priority areas.
He said his country would also continue to maintain its role as the largest economy in the Middle East and one of the 20 largest in the world.
The Kingdom is participating in the meetings as part of its membership in the organization for the period 2022-2028.
At the opening meeting, the Chair and Vice-Chairs were elected in accordance with the decisions of the Committee.
Among the topics discussed are a draft charter for the Advisory Centre, a draft set of tools to reduce and mitigate disputes, a draft set of provisions for automated contracting, and legal issues related to the use of distributed ledger technology in trading.
UNCITRAL aims to address and eliminate obstacles to trade transactions arising from national laws governing international trade. UNCITRAL works to formulate globally accepted rules, agreements and laws, adopt uniform trade laws and also provides assistance in law reform projects.