The Gulf Cooperation Council has made a preliminary free trade agreement with Pakistan, the six-country bloc comprising Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates announced late Thursday.
The preliminary deal was signed by GCC Secretary General Jasem Al Budaiwi and Pakistan's trade minister Gohar Ejaz at the headquarters of the General Secretariat in Riyadh. There will be an internal administrative and approval process before the final trade deal is signed and comes into effect.
In a statement during the signing ceremony, Budaiwi called the deal “a historic economic agreement” that represented “a turning point in cooperation.”
The GCC added in another statement: “GCC countries are moving forward with the file of free trade negotiations with other countries, aiming to open and enhance the prospects for trade and economic cooperation for the Council member states regionally and internationally.”
