UK Business and Trade Minister Kemi Badenoch is visiting Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates this week in an effort to forge a trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), in a move that is expected to diversify UK’s trade partnerships post-Brexit.
Badenoch is set to address the Qatar Economic Forum and will meet with GCC Secretary-General Jasem al-Budaiwi and other ministers during her five-day trip. The UK initiated trade discussions with the GCC—which includes Bahrain, Kuwait, and Oman—last year.
The GCC, Britain’s seventh-largest trade partner with £61.3 billion ($78 billion) in total trade, offers significant opportunities for UK businesses, particularly in the food, drink, digital trade, and renewable energy sectors, said Badenoch.
However, economists forecast that the disruption to larger trade flows between the UK and the European Union could overshadow gains from deals with more geographically distant partners. Despite the upcoming trade pact with Australia and New Zealand, UK exports to the EU have seen a 7% decrease since 2019.