GCC-EU Meeting in Luxembourg

The GCC and the EU convened for their 22nd session in Luxembourg. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal and EU High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission Catherine Ashton co-chaired the meeting. GCC foreign ministers and GCC secretary-general Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani were also present. The two sides discussed progress of the GCC-EU relations and approved minutes of the joint cooperation commission meeting. They hailed the progress of the 2010-2013 joint acting programme in the financial, economic, monetary, trade and industrial sectors, in addition to energy, nuclear safety, the environment, money-laundering and terror-financing. The joint scheme also covers patency rights, intellectual property copyright. In a statement issued today, the two sides agreed to draw-up a joint action programme for the forthcoming period (2013-2016) towards bolstering GCC-EU strategic relations, promoting peace, security, regional complementary, economic growth, sustained development and building bridges between peoples. The two sides also discussed key regional issues, including the Middle East Peace process, Syria, Iran, Iraq and Yemen. The forthcoming meeting will be convened in a GCC member state in 2013.