Ashraf AboArafe
The Saudi General Competition Authority participated in the meetings of the Group of Governmental Experts on Competition Laws and Policies at the 22nd session held by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), which was hosted by the city of Geneva in the Republic of Switzerland during the period 3-6 July.
The meeting, in the presence of a wide range of competition experts from around the world, discussed a number of important topics related to food markets, digital markets, and countries’ experiences in enhancing levels of competition in those markets.
The experts also discussed the contributions of effective enforcement of competition laws and policies to reducing poverty levels and addressing the behavior of monopolistic enterprises that may enhance the unavailability of goods to segments of society at reasonable prices.
On the sidelines of the meeting, the Authority’s delegation presented a visual presentation on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s presidency of the Arab Competition Network and the plan to develop the network’s work to enhance cooperation between competition agencies in the Arab world. The Arab Competition Network includes the membership of 18 Arab countries who are members of the Greater Arab Free Trade Area (GAFTA), following a meeting hosted by the Eurasian Economic Commission of regional organizations specialized in competition, and in the presence of seven international organizations concerned with competition.
It is noteworthy that the participation of the General Authority for Competition in these meetings contributes to achieving its strategic objectives aimed at enhancing cooperation and integration with international organizations and leading competition bodies.
