Negotiations for the free trade agreement between the the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and China have entered the final stage, said GCC Secretary General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi in Kuwait City of Kuwait on Friday.
Addressing a press conference on the upcoming 45th GCC Summit, Albudaiwi said the GCC will strengthen cooperation with China in various fields in the coming year.
"We are coordinating with China on every different level. We are in the final stage of our FTA negotiation with China. We hope, we really, truly hope, we can finish it, I hope, this month, or next month, in December, in the near future. Because it is a relationship that will open the market for everybody's good and everybody will benefit from it, trade, industry, infrastructure, political dialog. We are in very close coordination and cooperation with China," said the GCC chief.
China is the largest trading partner of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), with bilateral trade between China and GCC countries reaching 286 billion U.S. dollars in 2023.
China and the GCC launched Free Trade Agreement negotiations in 2004 and have held 11 rounds of negotiations so far.
The 11th round of negotiations was held in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province from October 15 to 18 this year.
GCC chief on free trade agreement negotiations with China
