The Minister of Foreign Affairs Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, urged the European Union and GCC to strive harder to finalize signing the free trade agreement (FTA) between the GCC and EU as soon as possible.
Bahrain’s Foreign Minister reiterated the importance of the joint GCC- EU meeting being held in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
Shaikh Khalid expressed his confidence that the GCC – EU Ministerial meeting will strengthen the bilateral ties, and promotes regional security and stability as well. He also noted the realized unmistakable achievements in terms of strengthening trade and economic ties, through the signing of the 2013-2016 EU-GCC Joint Cooperation Programmes which has consolidated the economic and trade relations between the two sides. He added that the programme helped in opening new areas that meet the interest of the major two blocs in the world. He said, “The programme covers a myriad of areas including oil, energy, education, tourism, health, environment, and disaster management.