Britain said Wednesday it had reached a long-term trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council valued at roughly $5 billion annually, strengthening ties with Gulf partners amid regional instability from the Iran war.
The deal with the GCC, which consists of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, comes after U.S.-Israeli strikes against Iran in February triggering Iranian attacks on other countries in the region, putting strain on energy and food supplies.
"At a time of increased instability, today's announcement sends a clear signal of confidence - giving UK exporters the certainty they need to plan ahead, Britain's Trade Minister Peter Kyle said.
The British government said the deal would be worth £3.7 billion ($4.96 billion) each year in the long term, more than double a previous estimate that it would be worth £1.6 billion, as the final deal went further on both trade liberalization and service sector commitments than previously expected.
The deal will remove 93% of GCC tariffs on British goods, equivalent to the removal of £580 million worth of tariffs by the deal's tenth year, with two-thirds of the tariffs being removed as soon as the deal comes into force.
