ALBAWABA - UK Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, is scheduled to make his first official visit to the Gulf with the intention of expanding on strategic and commercial relations with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), AFP reports.
The visit, commencing on Sunday, focuses on the UK's attempts to strengthen cooperation with the governments of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), especially through progressing forward with free trade agreement (FTA) discussions.
Starmer is expected to meet with President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in the United Arab Emirates before he goes to Saudi Arabia to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for discussions.
The main topics of discussion will be strengthening bilateral trade, securing investments in renewable energy, technology, and defense, and completing the free trade agreement with the GCC, which also consists of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar, according to Bloomberg.
The UK government projects that the deal could generate an additional £8.6 billion a year and boost bilateral commerce by 16%.
Starmer's visit will cover urgent worries about security in the Middle East in addition to economic goals. He intends to request more humanitarian assistance for Gaza, push for a prisoner exchange deal and ceasefire in the war-torn strip.
The prime minister will conclude his tour with a stop in Cyprus on Tuesday, where he will meet President Nikos Christodoulides, marking the first bilateral visit by a UK leader to Cyprus in over 50 years.
