RIYADH, 19 February 2004 — The six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council and the European Union have set out a broad vision for closer ties by formally opening the European Commission’s first diplomatic mission in the Saudi capital.
The opening coincides with a whistlestop tour by Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal to three European countries, according to Belgian Ambassador Rudi Schellinck.
“Prince Saud, who was in Brussels on Wednesday after wrapping up his visit to Switzerland, held wide-ranging talks with the EU’s foreign policy chief Javier Solana on how to revive the stalled road map for Middle East peace,” EU spokeswoman Cristina Gallech told Arab News from Brussels.
“Prince Saud discussed the Saudi peace initiative for the Middle East, while jointly reviewing many other issues of mutual concern including the situation in Iraq,” Gellech said.
She said Prince Saud will deliver a lecture today at the Brussels-based Center for European Studies (CES) besides holding official talks during this trip.
Prince Saud will travel to Poland later this week, where he will hold talks with Polish President Aleksander Kwaniewski and invite him to visit Riyadh.
Ambassador Schellinck said Bernard Savage, a seasoned diplomat, was named as head of the EC’s permanent delegation in Saudi Arabia. “The EC’s mission will have the mandate to promote relations between the two major economic and political blocs — the GCC and the 15-member EU,” said Schellinck.
The GCC has emerged as a significant consumer bloc with more than $80 billion in annual imports. Brussels and Riyadh have forged closer cooperation, with exports exceeding $1 billion and imports totaling $420 million, Schellinck said.
