Saudi Arabia says there is no customs rift with UAE

Saudi Arabia has denied reports about a festering rift with neighbouring UAE over persistent delays of cargo-laden trucks at the border between the two Gulf countries, saying it would send a delegation to the emirates next month.

The Kingdom’s customs chief, Abdullah bin Manei Al Khilaiwi, said the absence of the UAE from a meeting of customs officials in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Kuwait this week was not because of any differences but due to the participation of its customs delegate in IMF talks in Washington.

The Saudi newspaper Aljazeera said Monday Khilaiwi was reacting to reports about disagreements with the UAE and the presence of long lines of trucks on the Saudi-UAE border customs point daily.

“There is no piling up of trucks coming to Saudi Arabia from the UAE… we have been meeting with the UAE customs officials regularly,” he said.

“Representatives of the Saudi customs will visit the UAE after Eid Al Adha (late November) to discuss bilateral relations.”

Khilaiwi did not elaborate on the upcoming talks but UAE officials and businessmen have complained about a piling up of trucks at the border with Saudi Arabia because of delays in customs procedures.

The UAE and Saudi Arabia are part of a customs union launched by the GCC a few years ago in line with their 1983 economic pact to merge their markets.

But there have been complaints by the group’s private sector that traders still face obstacles in moving their shipments across the border.

The six members are also still haggling to reach an agreement on the thorny issue of distributing revenue from customs duties. Failure to reach that accord has blocked the full implementation of the customs union.