BRUSSELS — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has stated that the European Union aims to establish an economic corridor with Gulf countries to increase trade in renewable energy, data, and people-to-people exchanges. Brussels hosted a Gulf-European summit on Wednesday, attended by Gulf and European leaders, including Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman. The summit primarily focused on the Middle East crisis, the ongoing conflict in Gaza and Lebanon, as well as broad economic issues. Von der Leyen described her meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the sidelines of the summit as "good." Following the meeting, she wrote on her social media platform X: "We want to strengthen EU-GCC cooperation by building an economic corridor to increase trade in renewable energy, data, and people-to-people exchanges." Von der Leyen also emphasized the importance of "working together to ensure the security we all need for economic growth." The summit, held under the theme "Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity," concluded with a statement that read: "Through this special partnership, we will work together to enhance global and regional security and prosperity, including preventing the emergence and escalation of conflicts and resolving crises through strengthened dialogue, coordination, and engagement." The statement added: "We will strengthen cooperation between our regions to promote sustainable investments in geographic and thematic areas of mutual interest, including through joint projects and frameworks. We reaffirm the importance of fair partnerships that respect the economic conditions of each region and ensure an equitable distribution of responsibilities and benefits. We also expressed our readiness to explore cooperation on the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) and the EU's Global Gateway framework."
