GCC official: Kuwait plays pivotal role in GCC-ASEAN, GCC-ASEAN-China summits

By Abdullah Bougis KUALA LUMPUR, May 24 (KUNA) -- GCC Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs and Negotiations Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Owaisheq affirmed Kuwait's concerted efforts to coordinate positions and unify views in GCC-ASEAN and GCC-ASEAN-China summits.
Al-Owaisheq made the statement to KUNA on Saturday amid Kuwait's preparations for the second GCC-ASEAN summit and the first GCC-ASEAN-China Summit, due in Kuala Lumpur on May 26-27.
He explained that Kuwait, as the current GCC President, is playing a pivotal role in cooperation negotiations with ASEAN countries and China at the development and investment levels.
Kuwait has also an active role in communicating GCC and Arab action priorities to Asian countries, particularly with regard to the Palestinian conflict and the situations in Syria and Yemen, he added.
Al-Owaisheq pointed to the first cooperation between the GCC and ASEAN in 2009 in Bahrain, which resulted in the formation of working groups in the fields of trade, investment, education, food security, and cultural cooperation.
He emphasized the importance of the summit's outcomes, particularly regarding implementing the Joint Action Plan (2024-2028), which was approved during the first GCC-ASEAN summit in Riyadh in 2023.
He added that China is considered a strategic partner of the GCC and ASEAN, noting that China is the largest trading partner for both parties.
The annual trade volume between the GCC and China exceeds USD 200 billion, while trade with ASEAN amounts to USD 150 billion, representing approximately 40 percent of the GCC's total foreign trade, Al-Owaisheq explained.
He said that the GCC, ASEAN, and China together would constitute more than 25 percent of the global economy, noting that the summit would aim to strengthen trilateral cooperation and explore promising potential between the three parties.
Al-Owaisheq revealed that the GCC is close to signing a free trade agreement with China, which has expressed its keenness to deepen cooperation with the GCC.
Regarding the free trade agreement with ASEAN, he explained that negotiations have not yet begun, noting that the difficulty of reaching an agreement is due to the internal disagreement within ASEAN regarding customs tariffs.
He expressed the GCC's hope to negotiate with ASEAN as a unified bloc, as well as with individual countries, noting that Singapore has already signed a free trade agreement with the GCC.
The GCC has also begun negotiations with Indonesia, and is preparing to begin negotiations with Malaysia, Al-Owaisheq added.
The two summits would aim to strengthen regional partnerships and expand the horizons of economic and development cooperation, especially in light of global geopolitical challenges and changes in the international trade balance. (end) aab.ao