Doha, Qatar: Ambassador of the EU to Qatar H E Dr. Cristian Tudor has praised Qatar’s hosting of the 13th EU-GCC Economic Dialogue, noting that dialogues are the appropriate way to promote strategic relations between the EU and the GCC states and enhance cooperation between the two peoples.

“The first summit at the leaders’ level between the State of Qatar and the European Union is due in October in Brussels under the presidency of Qatar ... It would lead to a new era, especially with the EU’s keenness to bolster bilateral relations,” he said while addressing the opening session of 13th GCC-EU Macroeconomic Dialogue.

“I believe that all these developments, all these dialogues are working in the right direction, which is upgrading relations between the European Union and the Gulf countries on a strategic level. I see without a doubt that holding of this summit will lead to the entry of a new era.

“I consider the Gulf and Arab countries and the Gulf region to be the powerhouse of the world. I think that the European Union is very interested in strengthening and upgrading relations, and I wish you a rich dialogue, because I think that economic dialogue helps to strengthen cooperation between peoples; peoples of the European Union and peoples of the Gulf countries.”

Director of International Economic, Financial Relations and Global Governance (ECFIN) Annika Eriksgaard highlighted the importance of EU-GCC economic dialogue, especially with the increasing international challenges such as the increasing fragmentation of global trade, complex geopolitical and economic situation that generally affects global growth, including the war on Gaza, the Russian-Ukrainian crisis and their impact on the Red Sea trade route, global tourism, and energy availability.

She noted that many of these challenges require finding possible solutions and coordinating ways to address them, appreciating the manner and spirit in which the two sides’ discussions took place during the 12th dialogue in Brussels in November 2022, and the way in which it is possible to find how to align the interests of the two blocs in some areas.

“For you, I clearly see how the impact of the conflict in Gaza is affecting tourism that is important, affecting also the trade routes through the Red Sea and first and foremost as well as the clear impact from the war in Ukraine following Russia’s full scale invasion. It affects our availability of energy literally from one day to another.”

She added: “What are the possible solutions? Again, many of them are common and we can find ways to work together, which is why I very much appreciate the way and the spirit in which our discussions have been held. I vividly remember the last one that we had in Brussels in November 2022. And the way we can find how we are aligning our interests in some areas and how we can foster a closer cooperation on quite a number of them. Some of our challenges are regional specific.”

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