Manama, Bahrain—The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has stressed the importance of strengthening ties between the GCC and the European Union (EU) in order to “serve common interests.”
The Secretary-General of GCC, Dr. Naif Falah Mubarak Al-Hajraf, met with the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen in the Bahraini capital, Manama, on the sidelines of “Manama Dialogue 2022” forum.
During the meeting, a number of issues of common interest were reviewed, and GCC-EU relations were reviewed.
The file of free trade negotiations between the two sides was also reviewed, and the importance of inviting technical teams to review their developments, in order to serve common interests and strengthen trade and economic relations between the two parties.
Early this year, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the European Union (EU) launched the Fourth Trade and Investment Dialogue at the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, to discuss the new developments in trade and investment exchange.
More than a week ago, the EU foreign policy chief told the Emirates News Agency (WAM) in an interview that the cooperation between the European Union (EU) and the Gulf countries in energy and security domains is very crucial as supplies from the Gulf have changed the Europe’s energy landscape, adding that “your [Gulf’s] security is our security.”
“Manama Dialogue 2022” forum, is being held November 18-20, with a wide participation of more than 400 participants from different countries through high-level representation of ministers, security officials, military leaders and academics, during the period.