Guangzhou, Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Jassem Mohamed Albudaiwi said that a GCC-China strategic partnership will be based on political trust, mutual respect and strong understanding between the two sides, their weight in the global economy, and a true translation into practice of the outcomes of the first GCC-China summit, held in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on December 9, 2022, according to a press release form the GCC General Secretariat.
Albudaiwi made these remarks at the meeting held by the GCC ministers of economy and trade and the minister of commerce of the People’s Republic of China, which was held today in China, to discuss deepening economic cooperation.
According to the release, Albudaiwi said the leaders of the GCC countries aimed at building relations of love and peace with the friendly People’s Republic of China, built on trust and mutual respect, and at strengthening relations all levels, especially in aspects pertaining to economy.
Albudaiwi also said that “we hope that this meeting will contribute to strengthening the steps and efforts currently in place to implement the joint action plan for cooperation in the economic and trade field for the period 2023-2027, emerging from the strategic dialogue between the two sides, in addition to intensifying communication between the public and private sectors on both sides, to discuss economic, trade and investment opportunities, and translate them into concrete partnerships, and also to continue to enhance cooperation to achieve common goals in trade, investment, industry and advanced technology”.
Albudaiwi stressed that “the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the GCC countries and China, which is currently being negotiated, will be one of the important tributaries to strengthening GCC-Chinese relations in all fields, especially in the economic and investment field, and will significantly contribute to increasing the benefits gained and exchange of trade between the two sides, benefiting several countries and peoples, and serving as a real catalyst for many regional and international economic elements”.
Moreover, he said that this agreement, which was one of the outcomes of the “Framework Agreement for Economic Cooperation” between the GCC countries and China and was signed on July 6, 2004, has been the result of 10 rounds of technical negotiations and many meetings, and the two sides made many efforts, through continuous cooperation and flexibility in the course of negotiations, to achieve it and secure a close follow-up.
Albudaiwi said he hoped that the final signing of the FTA between GCC countries and China will be announced soon, the release said.
Source: Saudi Press Agency
