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GCC

Gulf Cooperation Council

Oman disappointed with pace of Indo-GCC FTA talks
29-May-2007
Oman today expressed disappointment with the slow pace of talks on Free Trade Agreement between India and the Gulf Cooperative Council and asked officials of both sides to take it up on priority.
New Thai trade talks ’needed’
20-May-2007 Gulf Daily News
A proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Bahrain and Thailand has stalled because of the intervention of other GCC countries, officials confirmed yesterday.
GCC FTAs: Dead ends or new beginnings?
15-May-2007 MENAFN
What do the Gulf Cooperation Council countries want from FTAs?
Call to secure EU-Gulf free trade deal
12-May-2007
Foreign Minister Michael Frendo has urged the successful conclusion of negotiations on a free trade agreement between the European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council.
GCC to seek further talks before EU free-trade deal
8-May-2007 Gulf Times
The wording of the agreement remains undecided along with issues concerning service industries and investment rules.
Japan PM’s Middle East tour
7-May-2007 Ohmynews
Abe agreed with leaders of five Middle East nations to strengthen bilateral relations with Japan on a wide range of areas, including politics, culture and environment as well as energy, trade and investment.
Japan, Qatar reaffirm ties on energy supply, education
3-May-2007
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Qatari Emir Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani reaffirmed Tuesday at a meeting in Doha that they will cooperate in securing stable energy supplies for Japan, Japanese officials said.
FTAs now substitute for multilateral talks
29-Apr-2007
I had the opportunity to present a working paper at the 7th Forum for Democracy, Development and Free Trade held at the Qatari capital of Doha last week.
GCC on course to meet 2010 monetary union deadline
27-Apr-2007
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is on course to meet a 2010 deadline to form a monetary union, the UAE Central Bank Governor, Sultan bin Nasser Al Suwaidi, said yesterday. "There is no delay to forming a currency union," he said, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an Islamic Banking Conference held in Dubai.
Japan, Middle Eastern states seek to end FTA talks by early 2008
25-Apr-2007 Kyodo
Japan and a group of six Middle Eastern oil producers, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, will aim at concluding their negotiations on a free trade agreement by early 2008, Japanese officials said Tuesday.
Prospect for an Arab-Asian FTA
13-Apr-2007
On two counts, the 27-28 March Arab League summit in Riyadh could be the beginning of a turning point in the tumultuous history of the Middle East post-1948.
India-GCC FTA talks in April: Nath
26-Mar-2007
After more than a year’s gap, representatives of India and the six-nation Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) will meet next month to take forward the talks on proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
Roh proposes free trade talks with Arab Gulf nations
25-Mar-2007 Hankyoreh
South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun on Sunday unveiled an initiative for future cooperation between South Korea and the Middle East, proposing a free trade agreement (FTA) with member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
Malaysia mulls FTA with GCC countries
22-Mar-2007
International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz said Malaysia is considering discussing free trade agreement (FTA) with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.
Middle East moves towards VAT
16-Mar-2007
The taxation environment in the GCC may be on the cusp of significant change.
Disagreement puts India-GCC FTA on backburner
9-Mar-2007 Financial Express
Plans to put an India-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in place have suffered a setback despite two rounds of talks earlier this year. According to officials, due to the absence of customs union and disagreement among the GCC countries, talks of an FTA with India are now stuck.
FTAs ’threaten Gulf economic security’
7-Mar-2007
The economic security of the Gulf could be threatened by signing free trade agreements (FTAs), some experts said yesterday.
Gulf expects EU trade deal by June
5-Mar-2007
Gulf Arab states and the European Union are likely to finalise a free trade deal by June, the secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council said on Monday.
European-Gulf FTA talks falter anew
28-Feb-2007 KUNA
European-Gulf negotiations on a joint free trade agreement have faltered anew due to fresh European economic preconditions for the signing, an Omani representative said Wednesday.
Gulf states must open markets, EU’s Mandelson says
26-Feb-2007 Bloomberg
The EU has agreed to reduce import tariffs on aluminum and petrochemicals from the Gulf to zero in an attempt to conclude their FTA negotiations. In return, the EU wants the limit on foreigners owning majority stakes in Gulf companies ended.