Last week, during Department for Trade Questions in the House of Commons, Richard asked the International Trade Minister, Ranil Jayawardena MP, to update the House on progress towards a free trade deal with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in order to build on the opportunities for trade that exist in that region.
Richard Fuller MP said:
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) consists of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and currently the value of UK trade with the GCC is approximately £23 billion per annum. There are significant opportunities for British exporters to the Gulf states that are members of the Gulf Co-operation Council, not least because we already export a lot and because the barriers for our exporters are greater than those for GCC exports to the UK.
I was pleased to hear the Minister say the government is "raring to go" on negotiations on an FTA with the GCC very soon.
Richard's question and the minister's answer can be watched here.
