The Ministry of Commerce (Arabic: وزارة التجارة) is a government ministry in Saudi Arabia that oversees commercial activity in the Kingdom and develops policies related to trade and the business sector.
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History
Between 1926 and 1954, the Merchants' Council, established by King Abdulaziz, managed commercial affairs in Saudi Arabia before being replaced by the Ministry of Commerce, created by a Royal Decree in 1954 to oversee domestic and international trade.
The ministry was reorganized in 2003 and renamed the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
It was renamed the Ministry of Commerce and Investment in 2016.
On 25 February 2020, following the establishment of the Ministry of Investment, the ministry’s name was changed to the Ministry of Commerce.
Structure
The Ministry has several agencies including:
Deputy Ministry for Consumer Protection
Deputy Ministry for Industry Affairs
Deputy Ministry for Foreign Trade
Deputy Ministry of Internal Trade
Deputy Ministry for Technical Affairs
Marketing and Communication Management
Administrative and Financial Affairs Management
Information Technology Management
General Directorate for Strategic Planning and Projects
Engineering Management
The minister also chairs the board of the Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority (Monsha'at).
Commercial Attachés Offices
The Ministry also supervises commercial attachés offices worldwide with the aims of establishing and developing commercial relationships with other countries. In May 2018, Saudi Arabia appointed with Samar Saleh the first woman to be a commercial attaché in Japan.