meed-logo

line1 line2 line3
SIGN IN / REGISTER

UK-GCC trade talks make slow progress

11 December 2023

 

There may be some frustration creeping in over the pace of negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA) between the UK and the GCC, with Gulf officials in particular calling for the process to be expedited.

The two sides launched the process in June 2022 and since then there have been five rounds of talks, the most recent of which wrapped up in Riyadh on 16 November.

The UK’s Department for Business & Trade said a few days later that technical discussions had been held on 21 policy areas and “good progress was made” with the draft text, with advances made in “the majority of chapters”.

The next round of talks is due to take place in the first quarter of 2024.

It is not clear how far the two sides are from reaching a deal, but Gulf officials have said they would like to see faster progress. At a meeting in Manama on 18 November, GCC secretary-general Jassem Mohamed Albudaiwi told the UK’s Minister of State for the Middle East Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (pictured) of the “urgency of expediting the pace of negotiations”.

The UK, however, appears to be in less of a rush. Speaking at the Arab-British Economic Summit in London on 20 November, the country’s chief negotiator on the FTA, Tom Wintle, said: “It is fundamentally about the deal, not the date. We are absolutely committed to working at pace. We have huge political will and commitment on both sides to get this done. I can vouchsafe that both sides are working flat out. But it is about getting the right agreement.”

He declined to be drawn on how much longer the process might take but added: “We are starting to see what I believe will be a really remarkable free trade agreement emerging.”

The slow pace of the UK-GCC negotiations contrasts with the speed at which the UAE has been signing its own versions of bilateral FTAs.

Over the past few years, the UAE has launched negotiations on comprehensive economic partnership agreements (CEPAs) with several countries. The first four deals – with India, Israel, Indonesia and Turkiye – took an average of less than seven months from launch to conclusion.

At heart, what an FTA is looking to do is to make business easier, cheaper, more secure
Tom Wintle, the UK’s chief negotiator for the UK-GCC FTA

Gainful opportunity

Trade between the UK and the six GCC economies was worth £61m ($77bn) in 2022, according to the UK authorities, who suggest that the removal of tariffs and other barriers could increase trade flows by “at least 16 per cent”.

When the negotiations first began, the UK government pointed to the food and drink sector along with manufacturing and renewable energy as areas that stood to benefit from any deal.

In his most recent comments, Wintle emphasised potential gains in the digital realm, “and in particular the opportunity and potential to grow the transformational technologies like e-commerce, like AI [artificial intelligence]”. He went on to talk about “an FTA that really harnesses both what is happening today but importantly the forces that will shape the world of work and commerce in the future”.

In terms of specific demands, Wintle said the UK is looking to “lock in legal certainty on electronic transactions so businesses can make greater use of things like e-contracts, e-signatures, paperless trading”. 

“At heart, what an FTA is looking to do is to make business easier, cheaper, more secure,” he added.

While the talks continue, companies continue to trade. Speaking on the sidelines of the conference, an executive at a technology company that is already present in the UAE and is considering expanding into Saudi Arabia was cautious about the difference an FTA might make. “It is the market opportunity that is the driver,” he said.

Elsewhere in the Middle East, the UK already has FTAs in place with Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia, and has been on a push to sign more since leaving the EU. The talks with the GCC are just one of many sets of live negotiations, with others currently under way between the UK and South Korea, Canada and India, among others.

Trade issues also regularly come up in the strategic dialogues that the UK holds with countries from around the Middle East and North Africa region. In recent weeks, it has held them with Algeria, Bahrain and Tunisia.

Lord Ahmad told the Arab-British Economic Summit that in the recent meeting with Algeria, “we focussed on opportunities to increase our burgeoning trade relationship”, which he said had grown by 24 per cent in the past year to a value of £3bn.

Trade ties with Algeria go back a long way, with the two countries having signed a bilateral Treaty of Peace & Trade in 1682.

Lord Ahmad said the dialogues with Bahrain and Tunisia “focussed on areas such as climate, education, transport and much more as well”, and said in relation to the GCC trade talks that “we are progressing that well”.

“A trade deal with the GCC will boost our collaboration across a huge range of sectors, creating many business opportunities and importantly jobs on both sides, and attracting new investment,” he added.

“For the economies of the Arab world to become less dependent on carbon and fossil fuels, we must open doors for entrepreneurs to take advantage of the technologies – opportunities we can only grasp by removing barriers and facilitating growth, and working with our Gulf partners.”

As the long history of UK-Algeria trade shows, FTA deals are not a new concept even if, as with the ongoing GCC talks, it can take time to frame an agreement that takes into account the fast-moving nature of commerce.

Image: UK Minister of State for the Middle East Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon at the 2023 Arab-British Economic Summit

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/11350781/main0606.gif
Dominic Dudley

Register for MEED's guest program now to access this article.

Click here to register
Exclusive from Meed
Related Articles
  • Bidders get more time for Jebel Ali sewage EPC contract

    29 April 2026

     

    Dubai Municipality has extended the deadline for contractors to submit bids for a contract covering the expansion of the Jebel Ali sewage treatment plant (STP) phases one and two.

    Contractors now have until June to submit offers, a source told MEED. Bidding had been expected to close on 30 April.

    The upgraded facility will be capable of treating an additional sewage flow of 100,000 cubic metres a day (cm/d), with the expansion estimated to cost $300m.

    The scope includes the design, construction and commissioning of infrastructure and systems required to support the increased capacity.

    Located on a 670-hectare site in Jebel Ali, the original wastewater facility has a treatment capacity of about 675,000 cm/d following the completion of phase two in 2019, combining approximately 300,000 cm/d from phase one and 375,000 cm/d from phase two.

    The main element of the expansion involves modifications to the secondary treatment process at Jebel Ali STP phase two.

    UK-headquartered KPMG and UAE-based Tribe Infrastructure are serving as financial advisers on the project.

    Future expansion

    It is understood that the project is part of long-term plans to treat about 1.05 million cm/d once all future phases are completed.

    According to sources, this includes a Jebel Ali-based build-operate-transfer (BOT) project to be developed under a public-private partnership (PPP) model.

    It is understood that the prequalification process for this will begin in the coming months.

    In February, MEED exclusively revealed that the municipality is preparing to tender the main construction package for the Warsan STP by the end of the year.

    As MEED understands, the Warsan STP had previously been planned as a PPP project.

    The main package will now be procured as an engineering, procurement and construction contract, a source said.

    The project involves the construction of a sewage treatment plant with a capacity of about 175,000 cm/d, including treatment units, sludge handling systems and associated infrastructure.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16608027/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • UAE’s departure from Opec marks a tectonic shift

    29 April 2026

    Commentary
    Indrajit Sen
    Oil & gas editor

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    The UAE’s decision to leave Opec and the Opec+ grouping marks a significant turning point in global oil markets and highlights shifting geopolitical dynamics and evolving supply expectations.

    The UAE announced it will leave the producer alliance effective 1 May, ending nearly six decades of membership. The move reflects a broader strategic shift, as the country seeks greater flexibility over its production policy amid rising capacity and changing market conditions.

    For oil markets, this is about more than one country wanting to pump more oil. Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) has spent billions of dollars over the years to raise crude production capacity to 5 million barrels a day.

    Opec+ quotas had increasingly looked as though they were stifling Abu Dhabi’s growing desire to maximise revenues by tapping into its expanded spare capacity. Leaving the Opec+ coalition gives Abu Dhabi more room to monetise those investments.

    The timing also matters. It comes against a backdrop of regional security concerns, tensions around Iran and the Strait of Hormuz, and a sense that consumers are once again being squeezed by high energy costs and depleted strategic reserves. 

    The immediate dip in the price of global benchmark Brent crude following the announcement of the UAE’s decision on 28 April showed the market’s first instinct: more UAE barrels could mean more supply and lower prices. However, the price rebound on 29 April, with Brent trading around $111 a barrel, also tells the other half of the story: extra capacity does not instantly become risk-free supply when regional bottlenecks and security threats remain front and centre.

    For Opec+, this is a blow to unity and to Saudi Arabia’s ability to marshal producer discipline. It does not mean that a price war will start tomorrow, but it raises the risk of other member states choosing to abandon the alliance’s cooperation mechanism and pursue a higher market share. In trading terms, this adds a new volatility premium: more potential supply, less cartel discipline and a Gulf energy landscape that looks significantly less predictable.

    The announcement comes at a time of heightened uncertainty in global energy markets, with geopolitical tensions, supply chain constraints and demand recovery trends all contributing to price volatility. The UAE’s exit is expected to reshape market expectations around supply flexibility and producer coordination.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16608006/main.gif
    Indrajit Sen
  • Kuwait Oil Company prepares to sign flowline contract

    29 April 2026

     

    State-owned upstream operator Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) is preparing to sign a contract worth KD174.2m ($565m) with Kuwait-based Heavy Engineering Industries & Shipbuilding Company (Heisco), according to industry sources.

    The contract is focused on developing flowlines and associated works in North Kuwait.

    One source said: “The contract is expected to be signed soon and everything associated with the contract award process is moving very smoothly.”

    Heisco announced in a stock exchange statement earlier this month that it had received a formal contract award letter for the project.

    While progress on the project is moving smoothly for now, the project may be impacted by fallout from the US and Israel’s war with Iran in the future.

    The project requires a large volume of pipelines to be transported into Kuwait, which would normally be shipped through the Strait of Hormuz.

    Heisco was the fourth-lowest bidder for the contract.

    Also this month, Heisco submitted the lowest bid for a project to upgrade part of the Mina Abdullah refinery’s export infrastructure.

    It submitted a bid of KD11,919,652 ($38.6m) for the project to implement renovation works on the artificial island that forms part of the port at the refinery.

    The only other bidder was Kuwait’s International Marine Construction Company (IMCC), which submitted a bid of KD12,480,113 ($40.4m).

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16599814/main.png
    Wil Crisp
  • Algerian-Indian team makes oil and gas discovery in Libya

    29 April 2026

    A consortium of state-owned companies from India and Algeria has made an oil and gas discovery in Libya’s Ghadames basin.

    The consortium comprises Algeria’s Sonatrach International Petroleum Exploration & Production (Sipex), Oil India and Indian Oil Corporation.

    The discovery was made in the Area 95/96 block, which is located near Libya’s border with Algeria.

    In a statement, India’s Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas said that the well was completed to a final depth of 8,440 feet and achieved production of 13 million cubic feet of gas a day and 327 barrels of condensate a day during testing.

    The hydrocarbons were extracted from the Awynat Wanin and Awyn Kaza formations.

    The ministry added: “The discovery reflects the growing global footprints of Indian energy companies, importance of strategic international alliances, and our commitment to strengthening national energy security through overseas assets acquisition by national oil companies.”

    The consortium won the exploration and production rights for the block, which covers an area of nearly 7,000 square kilometres, during Libya’s fourth oil and gas licensing round in December 2007.

    Stakeholders are expecting a surge in oil and gas project activity in Libya after the country’s rival legislative bodies recently approved a unified state budget for the first time in more than 13 years.

    The Central Bank of Libya confirmed on 11 April that both chambers had endorsed the budget, saying that it was a key step towards restoring financial stability after prolonged division.

    The budget is valued at LD190bn ($29.95bn), and LD12bn ($1.9bn) has been allocated to the NOC.

    An additional LD40bn ($6.3bn) has been allocated for “development projects”.

    Libya has stated that a joint committee has been formed to help prioritise development projects, and the projects have been listed in the budget.

    The development comes at a time when Libya’s oil and gas sector could be positioned to make windfall revenues as oil and gas prices remain high due to fallout from the US and Israel’s war with Iran.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16599813/main.png
    Wil Crisp
  • UAE and Saudi firms plan data centre projects in Saudi Arabia

    29 April 2026

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    UAE-based firm Taranis Capital has signed a memorandum of understanding agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Emaar Executive Company to build several data centre facilities in the kingdom.

    According to a statement, the firms plan to develop, construct and operate a portfolio of data centre facilities, each with a capacity of 40-50MW.

    Emaar Executive Company will provide engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) capabilities, alongside its design and operations expertise.

    Saudi Arabia and the UAE are leading the market expansion of data centres through hyperscale campuses, sovereign cloud initiatives and edge data centre deployments.

    Data centres have become foundational infrastructure across the region, underpinning national digital economies and enabling cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI) workloads, smart cities, e-government platforms, fintech and cybersecurity resilience.

    Governments and enterprises are accelerating investment as data localisation requirements and power-intensive AI applications drive sustained demand for capacity.

    Data centre development is closely aligned with national strategies such as Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, the UAE’s digital economy and AI roadmaps, and wider smart city programmes across the GCC.

    These agendas are translating into long-term demand for high-capacity, energy-efficient and resilient data centre infrastructure. 

    Priorities include hyperscale and colocation facilities to support cloud service providers; edge data centres to reduce latency and enable 5G and IoT use cases; energy-efficient designs using advanced cooling, modular construction and renewables; and strategic partnerships between global hyperscalers, local developers and utilities.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16595179/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal