Bahrain’s Cabinet on Sunday endorsed the Kingdom’s efforts to conclude free trade agreements (FTAs) as part of the GCC block with vital blocs and individual countries.
The Cabinet discussed the memorandum presented by His Excellency the Minister of Finance on free trade agreements.
The GCC countries negotiated signing collective free trade agreements with a number of economic blocks and friendly countries such as Japan, the European Union, ASEAN, South Korea, China, India, Turkey, Russia, and Australia, within the framework of the political and economic coordination between the GCC countries and other economic, regional and international blocks and groups in accordance with Article II of the Economic Agreement between the Countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
The report of the negotiating team of the GCC countries has revealed that signing these agreements will add to the GDP of the Gulf States. At the level of the Kingdom of Bahrain, such agreements will contribute to creating new job opportunities, widening the economic base and encouraging foreign investment.
The Cabinet decided to refer the memorandum to the ministerial committee for financial affairs for further review.