ISDS Case Map
GCC
A disagreement over human rights and democracy was behind the suspension earlier this month of trade talks between the Gulf Cooperation Council and the European Union, an Omani official said yesterday.
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on Tuesday said it had suspended talks with the European Union for a free trade agreement (FTA). The decision to halt more than two decades of hard negotiations between the two regional economic blocs to sign the world's first region-to-region free trade agreement came a week ahead of a crucial summit by GCC leaders in Muscat.
The GCC-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (FTA) signed last week comes almost a year after the six gulf nations announced a common market to remove trade barriers within themselves and to deal with the world as one entity. Economists predict that the agreement will serve as a precursor to more FTAs between Gulf and prominent Asian economies.
Singapore-based exporters of food and telecommunications equipment look set to be among the major beneficiaries of the new free trade agreement signed with six Gulf states on Monday.
Qatar warned on Monday that the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council would suspend talks on a free trade deal with the European Union if an impasse in the 20-year-old negotiations continues.
The six Gulf oil producers on Monday signed a free trade agreement (FTA) with Singapore, the first-ever FTA for the GCC
The GCC countries and Singapore are expected to sign a free trade agreement (FTA) in Doha in the next few days.
Pakistan is trying hard to sign Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Gulf countries to give boost to its ailing economy, said a senior official.
The Free Trade Agreement between European Union and GCC states will be signed within few weeks, Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, UAE Minister of Economy, has said.
The prospect of Free Trade Agreements (FTA) between the Gulf and African countries will be discussed at a major conference in Bahrain next month. Hundreds of government officials, bankers and investors are expected to attend.
