TALKS began yesterday between officials of the UK and GCC, including Bahrain, to negotiate deals covering £33.1 billion (BD15.2bn) of trade.
UK Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan launched free trade negotiations during a visit to Riyadh hoping to unlock new investment opportunities.
The GCC is equivalent to the UK’s seventh largest export market, while the UK is the GCC’s third largest export market.
“Today marks the next significant milestone in our five-star year of trade as we step up the UK’s close relationship with the Gulf,”said Ms Trevelyan, who met GCC secretary-general Dr Nayef Al Hajraf and Saudi Arabian Commerce Minister Dr Majid Al Qasabi.
Industry and Commerce Minister Zayed Alzayani represented Bahrain.
“Our current trading relationship was worth £33.1bn in the last year alone.
“From our fantastic British food and drink to our outstanding financial services, I’m excited to open up new markets for UK businesses large and small, and supporting the more than 10,000 SMEs (small and medium industries) already exporting to the region.
“This trade deal has the potential to support jobs from Dover to Doha, growing our economy at home, building vital green industries and supplying innovative services to the Gulf.”
It is the fourth major Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiation launched by the UK this year, with trade negotiations now underway with India, Canada and Mexico.
These follow the recent signings of new FTAs with Australia and New Zealand.
British Ambassador to Bahrain Roddy Drummond yesterday highlighted the strong bilateral trade ties between the UK and Bahrain.
“The UK and Bahrain are already strong trading partners with a good balance in trade of both goods and services between us, trade rebounding strongly post-Covid, and new firms coming into the market,” he said.
“A UK-GCC FTA will increase trade and investment both ways, contributing to economic growth and prosperity in the UK, Bahrain and across the Gulf.
“Bahrain already works closely with the UK to create a more flexible and open business environment, and to remove market access barriers.
“An FTA will make this even easier.”
He added that the electronic visa waivers to Bahraini nationals allows them to travel easily to the UK, whether for business, tourism or study.
A UK-GCC deal will mean significant benefits for British food and drink producers, who exported £625m (BD288m) worth of products to GCC countries last year, and a deal could significantly reduce or remove tariffs on UK food and drink exports.
With almost £30bn already invested in each other’s economies, the deal will also help unlock even more opportunities for investment between the UK and GCC countries.
Gulf investments supported more than 25,000 UK jobs in 2019 – a number that tripled over the previous decade.
“The negotiation team has our full support ,” said Bahrain British Business Forum (BBBF) deputy chair Paula Boast.
“The FTA will operate not just to reduce and eliminate tariffs but also to address market access barriers that would otherwise impede the flow of goods and services.
“It will encourage investment and improve rules affecting matters such as intellectual property and e-commerce business.
“We look forward to further FTA development updates.”
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