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GCC

Gulf Cooperation Council


China, GCC agree to accelerate FTA negotiations
Visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Abdullatif al-Zayani agreed on Sunday to speed up negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two sides.
Kingdom, UAE dominate Turkish-GCC trade
Turkish trade with the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council), in spite of considerable positive progress in recent years, is lagging far behind its potential. Negotiations for a free trade agreement between Turkey and the GCC were launched in November 2005 but are still ongoing and are expected to conclude soon. The delays appear to have been linked above all to the global economic crisis with the talks suspended for a while in 2008-2009, according to a report "Turkey and the GCC: A strengthening Relationship" issued by the National Commercial Bank (NCB).
Zardari seeks UAE assistance in free trade agreement with GCC
President Asif Ali Zardari sought United Arab Emirates’s (UAE) help for Free Trade Agreement with GCC countries which would pave the way for increased commercial activity between Pakistan and the Gulf countries.
Trade among Gulf Arab states expected to surge by 14 percent: officials
Trade among Gulf Arab oil producing countries is expected to grow around 14 percent in 2011 recovering from a contraction two years ago at the height of the global financial downturn, two officials said on Sunday.
Indian pharma industry to gain from free trade agreement with Gulf nations
The Indian pharmaceuticals and chemicals industry will be among the biggest beneficiaries of a free trade agreement between the GCC and India, a leading banker in the region has said.
Cabinet approves GCC-EFTA trade pact
The Council of Ministers Monday approved the Free Trade Agreement between GCC member states and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) signed in Hamar in Norway on June 26, 2009.
Pakistan to ink FTAs with ASEAN, GCC
Pakistan expects to seal Free Trade Agreement (FTAs) with two promising regional groupings to boost the country’s trade performance, Secretary Commerce, Zafar Mahmood has said. “Pakistan is to sign the agreements with ASEAN and the Gulf Cooperation Council,” he said in an interview here following the conclusion of Pakistan Malaysia Business Forum and the meeting of Joint Review Committee on FTA
First GCC-Asean business forum set
Aiming to explore further trade and investment opportunities in many areas, the Sultanate will host the first GCC-Asean Business Forum in February next year.
GCC-Asean FTA discussed
Officials at the GCC and Asean countries stressed the importance of enhancing co-operation in the fields of trade and investment and exploring the possibility of negotiation regarding the Free Trade Agreement between the two groups.
Comesa seeks presence in Middle East
The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) has signalled intentions to expand presence in the Middle East to enhance Arab-African trade relations, despite political turmoil in the region.
Peru seeks trade pact with Arab states of Gulf
Peru is pushing for a free-trade agreement with with Arab states of the Persian Gulf as it aggressively expands beyond pacts it has implemented with China and the United States, state-run media said on Friday.
Malaysia and Gulf nations boost ties towards FTA
Malaysia and the Gulf Cooperation Council signed a landmark framework agreement to boost economic, commercial, investment and technical cooperation between them.
Trade pact with Gulf Cooperation Council on the cards
The framework of the cooperation agreement between Malaysia and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries has been completed and the next step is to sign the free trade agreement, according to Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed.
Sweden eyes stronger relations with UAE, supports EU-GCC FTA agreement
Swedish officials have expressed their country’s desire for wider trade and investment relations with the UAE and for a stronger presence in the Gulf country for Swedish businesses seeking to further expand into the whole Gulf region.
Crisis pushed GCC to slow down Turkey FTA talks
The global economic crisis of 2009 was a major reason behind Turkey’s stalled Free Trade Agreement (FTA) talks with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which began in 2005, Foreign Trade Undersecretariat officials have said.
GCC FTA Zardari seeks Kuwait’s help
President Asif Ali Zardari has said that Pakistan has keen interest in concluding a free trade agreement (FTA) with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and seeks Kuwait’s support in this regard.
Turkey should lobby Saudi Arabia for GCC ties
I followed the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit held in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) capital, last week and had a chance to see firsthand how the leaders of oil-rich Gulf Arab countries conducted the meeting against the backdrop of the challenges facing the Middle East.
Jordan seeks Saudi support for free trade agreement with GCC states
Jordan will ask Saudi Arabia to intervene with the Secretariat of the Gulf Cooperation Council to help it sign an agreement on economic cooperation and free trade with GCC member states.
GCC countries postpone customs union move
The Gulf Cooperation Council, a political and economic union involving the six Arab states, has decided to shelve its proposed customs union by at least two years after the modalities for the distribution of revenues and the mechanism of collection were not finalised.
GCC to do away with border curbs on goods
The latest push to eliminate obstacles could help the Gulf Cooperation Council Customs Union ease transportation of goods and services across the region from next year.