The UK has become the first G7 country to sign a trade deal with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the UK's Department for Business and Trade has announced.
The deal is expected to generate £3.7 billion ($5 billion) a year for the UK economy and increase trade between the two countries by almost 20%. “The deal removes tariffs on exports of food, medical equipment and high-tech products and includes unprecedented commitments from the Gulf states to ensure the free flow of data“, the statement said.
As the British ministry explained, the agreement “will allow British companies to store and process data outside the region for the first time, saving businesses the cost of building expensive data centers in the Gulf states“. Trade between the UK and the GCC is currently estimated at 53 billion British pounds ($71 billion).
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is a regional organization consisting of six countries: Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE, Oman and Saudi Arabia. The organization's goal is to expand cooperation between member states in all areas and develop common positions on key international and regional issues. The GCC statute notes that its members are “united by a common historical and cultural development and a similar political system“ (all member states are monarchies).