Trade talks with Gulf states

Member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) plan to discuss a proposed trade and economic agreement with China, according to an Abu Dhabi media report. The first meeting of finance ministers and other senior officials between is scheduled for the end of May. Another round of negotiations is planned for later in 2004. The proposed agreement is reportedly similar to the trade and economic agreement the GCC signed with the EU in the late 1990s. The GCC's member states include Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Oman.