DUBAI: The six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and South Korea signed a free trade agreement (FTA) on Thursday in the Korean capital Seoul, the GCC said a statement.

GCC Secretary General Jasem al-Budaiwi said in the statement that the agreement is “a historic step towards achieving Gulf economic integration and towards strengthening economic and trade relations between the two sides”.

Boosting trade and investment ties globally forms a key element of the Gulf states’ strategy to diversify income sources and economic sectors away from oil and gas.

FTA with GCC states making little or no headway

The FTA with South Korea covers trade in goods, services, government procurement, as well as cooperation among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), customs procedures, intellectual property, among others, the statement said.

The GCC Secretariat appointed a lead trade negotiator in 2022 and has held new rounds of FTA talks with major trading partners over the last year, including with China and post-Brexit Britain.

Earlier this year, the GCC signed a free trade agreement with Pakistan.