DUBAI, 27 September 2003 — The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) will sign a free trade agreement with the European Union before the end of next year, its chief Abdulrahman Al-Attiya said in remarks published here yesterday.
“Next November there will be a new round of negotiations in Riyadh between the GCC and EU, with a view to signing the accord before the end of 2004,” Attiyah told the weekly Al-Majallah.
“GCC countries are working with determination to strengthen their relations with EU countries and are engaged in constant efforts to reach this (free trade) accord,” he said.
The GCC, which groups Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, has been locked for more than a decade in trade negotiations with the European Union to strike the deal.
Brussels has insisted that the GCC must have its own customs union before it signs a free trade agreement.
The GCC launched a customs union in January, and decided to set up a monetary union in 2005 and a single currency by 2010.
The 15-state European Union is the GCC’s principal market and its second top supplier after Japan.
EU exports to the GCC were worth around $25 billion in 2001, with imports amounting to $22 billion, according to Brussels.