GCC and EU satisfied with progress on free trade pact

Ministers from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the European Union (EU) on Tuesday ended a one-day meeting, expressing satisfaction over the major steps taken for a trade agreement. "The two sides agreed that the progress in the free trade negotiations had been positive and affirmed that prospects for successful conclusion were greatly enhanced by developments in the GCC," the final joint statement said.

The statement was referring to the latest GCC efforts and decisions to unify custom tariffs and to categorize a large number of products, a step the EU said would pave the way for an early conclusion of the agreement.