Roughly 90% of World Trade Organizations members have ratified the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) already, paving the way for easier trade the world over.

This instrument will change global trade for the better in the decade to come.

Congratulations to Saudi Customs for the World Business Review, Trading Across Borders results!

Saudi Arabia improves from 158 to 86 place in the overall index and 27 places up in the Trading Across Borders sub-index measuring Customs.

A fantastic achievement only possible due to a visionary strong leadership and hard work by Goverenor H.E. Ahmed AlHakbani and Deputy Govenor Abdulrahman Thukair (in the photo) and their staff.

EU leaders are set to decide on Friday whether to grant the UK a three-month Brexit extension, the BBC’s Europe editor Katya Adler says.

Most EU nations back it but France “is digging its heels in”, she adds.

So there could be an emergency summit in Brussels on Monday to allow leaders to reach agreement face-to-face.

Boris Johnson insists the UK will leave the EU next week with or without a deal and he will seek a snap election if the EU grants an extension to January.

The prime minister was forced to send a letter to the EU requesting an extension, under legislation passed by MPs last month.

But he said he had told EU leaders his policy was still to leave on 31 October.

Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg told MPs the government “does not want an extension” and was “making every preparation to leave on 31 October”.

Dominic Cummings, Mr Johnson’s chief adviser, is reported to be urging ministers to abandon attempts to get the prime minister’s Brexit deal through Parliament and go for a December election instead.

But some ministers – such as Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith – are understood to be urging the prime minister to make another attempt to get his deal through Parliament first.

Mr Macron is fed up with the more-than-three-year EU focus on Brexit and the ever-present threat of a no-deal scenario.

He would rather shift attention to reforming the EU itself, to the benefit (he believes) of the countries remaining in it.

Of course, the French president knows Brexit won’t be over if and when the UK leaves.

Brexit Chapter Two – the negotiations on a comprehensive EU-UK trade deal – will likely be lengthy and complex, but they will largely be the competence of the European Commission, landing far more rarely on EU leaders’ in-trays.

Source: BBC News