German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday she hopes the European Union and the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries can finally complete a free trade agreement and that she would discuss the issue with Abu Dhabi’s crown prince.
Germany, which relies on foreign trade for half its gross domestic product, fears that the protectionism backed by US President Donald Trump and the fallout from Britain's vote to leave the EU posed global economic risks.
“The issue at hand is how to intensify the economic relations between the two regions,” Merkel said on Monday before her meeting with Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan.
On a trip to Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi, Merkel told reporters that the economic relations between the two regions needed to be strengthened. She said she had also discussed the issue on Sunday on her visit to Saudi Arabia.
“I made it clear that a free trade agreement with the Gulf states would be of great interest from a European point of view,” Merkel said during her visit to Jeddah on Sunday.

Merkel sees EU, Gulf states making progress on free trade deal

King Salman receiving Dr. Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, at Al-Salam Palace in Jeddah on Sunday. (SPA)
Reuters, Abu Dhabi
Monday 01 May 2017
Last Update: Wednesday, 20 May 2020 KSA 09:50 - GMT 06:50
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