Developing UK relations with the Gulf
Minister for the Middle East Alistair Burt met with Ambassadors from the Gulf Co-operation Council states yesterday at the Foreign Office.
Minister Burt gave an update to the Ambassadors on how the British Government’s desire to elevate its relations with the Gulf was being put into action. Ministers and officials from seven other Government departments also attended the meeting.
The Ministers and Ambassadors discussed a broad range of areas where they would like to deepen co-operation, including regional security, trade and investment, energy and climate change, education and culture and foreign policy and international development.
Mr Burt and his colleagues welcomed the Ambassadors’ ideas and suggestions as to how they could work together more closely across the board. As Mr Burt set out, the forthcoming “GCC Days in Europe Expo”, which will take place in London on the 18 - 22 October, will be an excellent opportunity to exchange more ideas and build the relationship even further.
Following the meeting, Alistair Burt said:
“This was another valuable opportunity to further the relationship between the UK and the GCC States, and I was glad of the opportunity to hear the views of the Ambassadors on how we can build on the efforts that have already started. I am pleased that our desire for a real deepening and widening of that relationship is already turning into reality.”
The following people attended the meeting:
- His Excellency Mr Khaled Al-Duwaisan GCVO, Ambassador of the State of Kuwait and Dean of the Diplomatic Corps
- His Excellency Mr Abdul Aziz Al Hinai, Ambassador of the Sultanate of Oman
- His Excellency Shaikh Khalifa Bin Ali Bin Rashid Al-Khalifa, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Bahrain
- His Excellency Khalid Rashid Al-Hamoudi Al Mansouri, Ambassador of the State of Qatar
- His Excellency Abdulrahman Ghanem Almutaiwee, Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates
- Abdulrahman Al-Suhaibani, Counsellor and Charge d’Affaires , Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
- Alistair Burt MP, Foreign & Commonwealth Office
- Lord Astor, Ministry Of Defence
- Andrew Cahn, Chief Executive, UKTI
- Alan Duncan MP, Department for International Development
- Lord Hill, Department for Education
- Baroness Neville-Jones, Home Office
- Ed Vaizey MP, Department for Culture, Media and Sport
- Lord Marland, Department for Energy and Climate Change
- Martin Davidson, CEO British Council