Saudi
Arabia bans 200 foreign companies for importing Israeli products
into the kingdom
ASSOCIATED PRESS
5 August 2002
Saudi Arabia has blacklisted about 200 foreign
companies during the past 10 months for importing $150 million of
Israeli products into the oil-rich kingdom, a Saudi trade official
said Monday.
Ahmed al-Ouda, a counselor in the kingdom's Commerce Chamber, told
The Associated Press that the companies mostly Jordanian
and Cypriot forged certificates of origin of Israeli products
in order to bring them into the Saudi market.
Al-Ouda said the companies including 72 from Jordan, 70
from Cyprus, 23 from Egypt and 11 from Turkey will not be
able to trade in Saudi again. The other banned companies come from
the United States, Britain, Singapore, Thailand, Portugal and Poland.
He did not name any of the banned companies or give the exact number
of companies blacklisted.
Al-Ouda said Saudi authorities verified the goods originated in
Israel after making checks on items imported by the companies, which
include vegetables, seeds, mobile phones and other electronic devices.
About $300 million worth of Israeli goods were imported to Gulf
countries during the last 10 months, al-Ouda said, with about half
that amount entering Saudi Arabia.
An Arab League boycott has been in place since 1951, banning companies
that do business with Israel from dealing with Arab nations. But
the boycott, which once listed more than 8,500 companies and people
from Coca-Cola to the Ford Motor Co., has not been active for almost
a decade.
Recently, however, boycott calls have risen because of the ongoing
Palestinian-Israeli violence.
190
firms blacklisted for Israeli imports
Arab News
5 August 2002
RIYADH, 5 August Saudi authorities have blacklisted about
190 Arab and Western companies in the last 10 months for importing
Israeli goods into the domestic market, Al-Watan newspaper reported
yesterday.
The companies, including 72 from Jordan, and 70 from Cyprus, figured
in the list after being accused by the Saudi office for boycotting
Israel of importing and selling Israeli goods in the Saudi market,
the paper said.
The other companies were based in Egypt (23 companies), Turkey
(11), Germany (6), the United States (3), Britain, Singapore, Taiwan,
Poland and Portugal, the paper said.
Saudi Arabia tightened its trade boycott against Israel after the
Jewish state and its occupation forces continued their atrocities
against unarmed Palestinian civilians.
The Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry recently
asked its members not to import any goods suspected of Israeli origin.
"Some of the Jordanian companies are still being probed to
confirm accusations that they received Israeli capital and re-exported
Israeli goods to Arab countries," the paper said.
The government has instructed customs at airports, seaports and
land border points not to release any products, which do not carry
certificates of origin in its bid to prevent Israeli products from
entering the country.
The Ministry of Commerce has also warned foreign companies against
importing Israeli products into the Kingdom, either directly or
through a third country. "Any company involved in such fraudulent
activities will immediately be blacklisted," it said.
The ministrys quality control laboratory at King Abdul Aziz
Port in Dammam had seized a consignment of fruit and vegetables
suspected to have originated from the Jewish state.
The ministry has blacklisted Hortex Holding SA, a Polish company,
for trying to send Israeli products into the Kingdom. It has also
instructed all quality control centers to reject shipments by the
Polish company.
Quality control laboratories had aborted an attempt by a German
company to export Israeli-manufactured wheat fiber to the Kingdom.
The German exporter was subsequently blacklisted by the Commerce
Ministry.
Experts from 13 Arab states had held a meeting in Damascus last
year to revive the boycott policy against Israel to exert pressure
on Tel Aviv to end its military aggression on the Palestinian people.
The Commerce Ministry has cautioned Saudi businessmen to be careful
while signing deals with foreign companies and urged them to be
certain of the origin of all imported products. It also instructed
quality control centers to intensify monitoring of incoming shipments.
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