The Gulf Cooperation Council is expected to sign a free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union within the next two months, the Saudi Arab News reported.
Saudi Deputy Finance Minister Hamad Al-Bazi, who is also the GCC’s coordinator for the agreement, said the FTA would be signed in October or November.
The Saudis formed the GCC in 1981. It includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The EU and the GCC signed an Economic Cooperation Agreement in 1988, which laid the framework for the expansion into a bilateral FTA, which has been in negotiation for the past 18 years.
GCC central bank governors are set to meet their counterparts in the EU next month to discuss monetary policies.
The FTA would boost GCC exports to Europe and attract more direct foreign investment in the member countries.