EmiratI sources have stated that they understand and respect the decision recently taken by the Saudi ministry of commerce to ban certain meat imports from the UAE. This statement follows many months of tension between Saudi Arabia and the UAE regarding the ban, which affects meat processed at certain factories in the Jebel Ali Free Trade Zone, according to Al-Sharq Al-Awsat.
Critics in the UAE maintained until recently that the claims against them were baseless. They added that the ban would turn back the clock on efforts to create a common Gulf market. In March, Saudi Arabia announced the ban, which affected all countries in which they believed such diseases as the rift valley fever and the foot and mouth disease might exist.
A Saudi delegation, which visited various UAE meat plants at the time, claimed that it had discovered that what the UAE claimed to be fresh meat, was in fact frozen and originated in one or more of the countries on which the ban was placed.
UAE officials, however, claimed that the Saudis had failed to present them with a report’s findings. They added that the matter was never addressed formally. Rather, the media served as the main source for the Saudi export ban instead of concrete facts.
Despite this ongoing controversy, tensions have subsided between the two parties, especially as the UAE had recently made public its respect for the Saudi decision. Saudi Arabia has continued to stress the importance of assuring that all arriving meat and related food products comply with basic safety and health standards.
Sources in the UAE state that they understand this, and that they would aim to satisfy all requirements regarding the origin of the manufactured meat in these factories. — (MENA Report)
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
