Gulf Cooperation Council–United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement

The Gulf Cooperation Council–United Kingdom free trade agreement (GCCUKFTA) is a proposed free trade agreement which began negotiations in June 2022. When completed it will be the first free trade agreement between the United Kingdom and the Gulf Cooperation Council, or any of its member states: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

Gulf Cooperation Council–United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement

Gulf Cooperation Council   United Kingdom
Type	Free trade agreement
Context	Trade agreement between Gulf Cooperation Council and the United Kingdom
Negotiators	Abdulla bin Adel Fakhro Mohammad Othman Al-Eyban Qais Mohammed Al Yousef Mohammed bin Hamad bin Qassim Al Abdullah Al Thani Majid bin Abdullah Al Qasabi Sultan Al Jaber Anne-Marie Trevelyan until 6 September 2022 Kemi Badenoch from 6 September 2022 until 5 July 2024 Jonathan Reynolds from 5 July 2024
Parties	Bahrain Kuwait Oman Qatar Saudi Arabia United Arab Emirates United Kingdom
Languages	Arabic English

Background

Following the 2016 Brexit referendum, in which the UK voted to leave the European Union, the Gulf states began pressing the UK Government for a post-Brexit Trade agreement.

British trade with the GCC was worth about 45 billion pounds ($61 billion) in 2019, 7% of the size of Britain's commerce with the European Union in 2019. Talks for a trade deal intensified in late 2021, just after the Premier League approved Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund's takeover of Newcastle United from billionaire Mike Ashley

Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism for Bahrain, Zayed Al Zayani hoped that the two sides could complete negotiations by the "end of this year or the middle of next year," in January 2022.

In June 2021, International trade secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan stated that the agreement would target a £1.6bn annual boost to the UK economy, and that the agreement would be a comprehensive FTA that will cover manufactured goods and agricultural produce to financial and digital services.

In 2023, the UK signed a Memorandum of understanding with the United Arab Emirates in regards to financial services.

Negotiations

GCCUKFTA Round of Negotiations

Round	Dates	Location	Ref.
1	22 August–29 September 2022	Virtual meeting
2	5–9 December 2022	London
3	12–16 March 2023	Riyadh
4	17–28 July 2023	London
5	5–16 November 2023	Riyadh
6	29 January–9 February 2024	London

The UK Government confirmed that the first round of negotiations had been conducted from 22 August and 29 September 2022.

On 4 July 2023, Bahrain announced plans to invest £1 billion in the UK as a preliminary move to strengthen ties related to financial services as part of the potential new trade deal.

Following difficulties in securing the India–United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement, some British trade officials are increasingly pessimistic about the India deal and view a free trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council as a more realistic deal which can be struck prior to the next election.

On 14 May 2024, Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom hosted a joint investment summit with more than 450 British business attendees, including representatives from HSBC and British Airways. On December 18 2024, Douglas Alexander updated the House of Commons on the negotiations. On March 20 25, Keir Starmer discussed the trade deal, in a phone call with Mohammed bin Salman. On April 26 2025 David Lammy visited Oman and Qatar to discuss progress with the negotiations.

Controversy

Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Democracy and Human Rights in the Gulf, Brendan O'Hara MP criticized the absence of human rights talks. Trade talks avoided discussions of events such as the murder of critical Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and the UAE's detention of British academic Matthew Hedges for alleged spying.

See also

• Bahrain portal
• Kuwait portal
• Oman portal
• Saudi Arabia portal
• United Arab Emirates portal
• United Kingdom portal
• Politics portal

• Free trade agreements of the United Kingdom
• Foreign relations of Bahrain
• Foreign relations of Kuwait
• Foreign relations of Oman
• Foreign relations of Qatar
• Foreign relations of the United Arab Emirates
• Foreign relations of the United Kingdom
• Foreign relations of Saudi Arabia
• Bahrain–United Kingdom relations
• Oman–United Kingdom relations
• Qatar–United Kingdom relations
• Saudi Arabia–United Kingdom relations
• United Arab Emirates–United Kingdom relations

References

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External links