The High Representative and Vice President of the European Union Josep Borrell met the Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council Nayef Falah Al-Hajraf and the GCC Chief Negotiator Dr Abdulrahman Al-Harbi in Brussels on Monday, to exchange on regional files of mutual concern and explore ways to step up EU-GCC cooperation.
The EU and GCC share an interest in addressing global challenges such as green and digital transition, climate change and counter-terrorism. The forthcoming 26th EU-GCC Joint Council and Ministerial Meeting convened for 21st February in Brussels will resume high-level institutional engagement between the two organisations and discuss concrete ways forward to strengthen dialogue and cooperation on both regional and global challenges.
Monday’s meeting in Brussels followed an invitation extended by the High Representative to the Secretary General in Riyadh during his visit to the region last October, in order to continue their engagement and also allow discussions on a broader range of issues with concerned Members of the European Commission. In this context, the Secretary General also met with Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis, Commissioner Johannes Hahn and Commissioner Ylva Johansson.