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New Zealand's political commitment and humanitarian help during the 1991 Gulf War helped raise its profile in Saudi Arabia. Government efforts to establish and maintain this solid political relationship have underpinned New Zealand's economic and trade interests in the Kingdom. In the year to December 2007, New Zealand exported NZ$527.621 million worth of products (mainly dairy and meat) to Saudi Arabia, making it our most significant export market in the Middle East and 22nd overall. It is also a significant supplier of oil to New Zealand, with oil accounting for over 50 percent of New Zealand’s imports from the Kingdom.
New Zealand signed a cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia in January 2001. The agreement encourages trade and technical cooperation, and established a mechanism, through a Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC), for government and private sectors to meet on a regular basis. The inaugural session of the JMC was held in Wellington in June 2002. The second session was held in Riyadh on 21 March 2006 and the third held on 14-15 July 2008 in Wellington.
New Zealand supported Saudi Arabia’s accession to the WTO, and concluded bilateral market access negotiations with the Kingdom in January 2004. New Zealand provided technical assistance in trade remedies disciplines. Negotiations continue on proposed technical cooperation on sanitary and phytosanitary procedures. Saudi Arabia and other Gulf States were supportive of New Zealand’s bid to have Sir Kenneth Keith elected to the International Court of Justice. The GCC states and New Zealand are currently in the process of negotiating a Free Trade Agreement.
More recently, education linkages between the Kingdom and New Zealand have brought the bilateral relationship to new levels, with 600 King Abdullah Scholarship Programme (KASP) students now attending New Zealand tertiary institutions. Some 2664 Saudi students were studying in New Zealand. In 2007. New Zealand is also involved in investigating ways to assist the Saudi government with educational reform including curriculum development, technical vocation and in-country training.
Saudi Arabia’s comparatively rapidly growing population and high levels of consumerism together with the development of more sophisticated retail outlets make it a good target market for New Zealand. A visa waiver scheme introduced for the Gulf States from 1 July 1999 has further increased opportunities for tourism, investment and trade with New Zealand.
Official Name - Kingdom of Saudi Arabia - Land Area - 2,150,000 sq km - Population - 24.3 million (2007 EIU estimate). 73% of the population are Saudi nationals - Capital City - Riyadh - Religion - Islam (About 85% of the population are Sunni Muslim, and most Saudis belong to the strictly orthodox Wahhabi sect. Shi'a Muslims, located in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, represent 15% of the population.) Religions other than Islam, and their symbols, are banned - Language - Arabic
Political system - Absolute Monarchy - National government - Council of Ministers, headed by the king, as president of the Council, and two deputy prime ministers. The Council of Ministers exercises both legislative and executive powers. - National legislature - There is no elected legislature. A Consultative Council (Majlis Al Shura) was appointed in August 1993, and is an advisory body. Its members are appointed, and membership consists of 90 members drawn from the elite of the religious, business, government and academic communities. The King has the right to dissolve it. - Head of State and Government - King Abdullah bin Abdel-Aziz al-Saud succeeded to the throne following the death of his brother Fahd bin Abdel-Aziz al-Saud, in August 2005. King Abdullah is also the Prime Minister. The powers and duties of the King are defined by Sharia (Islamic) law, which is also the ultimate arbiter of all government activities.
GDP - US $373.6 billion (2007 EIU estimate) - Real GDP growth - 3.5 % (2007 EIU estimate) - Exports - US$229.8 billion (2007 EIU estimate) - Imports - US $82.4 billion (2007 EIU estimate) - Current account balance - US $90.9 billion (2007 EIU estimate) - Inflation - 4.1% (2007) - External debt - US $52.7 billion (2007 EIU estimate)
NZ Exports (FOB) - NZ $729.27 million (for year to December 2008) - Main Exports - Milk powder (44%); butter (14%); sheep meat (13%); cheese (9%) - NZ Imports (CIF) - NZ $549.8 million (for year to December 2008) - Main Imports - Fertilisers (38%); Crude oil (35%); petroleum gases (17%); polymers of ethylene in primary form (8%)
New Zealand Ministers have made a number of visits to the Kingdom. The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade visited Saudi Arabia in January 2001. The Minister for Trade Negotiations visited in May 1999. The Minister of Education visited Saudi Arabia in May 2003 and again in April 2005. The Most recent visit was by the Minister of Trade, in March 2006, for the second session of the Joint Ministerial Commission.
The Saudi Commerce Minister, Dr Osama Faqeeh visited New Zealand in November 1998, the first official visit by a Saudi Minister in ten years. In 2002, Dr Faqeeh made a second visit to co-chair the inaugural session of the Saudi/New Zealand JMC. The Minister was accompanied by a sizeable public and private sector delegation. Mr Ali Al-Nuaimi, the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, visited privately in 1997. The CEO of the King Faisal Hospital Group, Dr Sultan Bahabri, visited in February 2002 to foster closer institutional linkages with the New Zealand health sector. In May 2000 a senior delegation of officials from the Saudi Ministry of Education visited to explore English language and teacher training services. The Governor of the General Organisation for Technical Education and Vocational Training visited in October 2003. A delegation from the Saudi Arabia Food and Drug Authority visited in July 2004 to study the New Zealand approach to food safety regulation and management. The Saudi International Arbitrator, Dr Abdulrahman Al-Subaihi visited in February 2005 for discussions on legal and constitutional issues. top of page
The Safetravel website provides a travel advisory for travellers to Saudi Arabia [external link].
