The Arab Gulf Cooperation Council and the European Union will set out a broad strategy for closer cooperation when GCC foreign ministers meet their EU counterparts in Manama on April 5. The Bahrain meeting will focus on regional security and the Middle East peace process besides the situation in Iraq, relations with Iran and GCC-EU bilateral relations, said Ambassador Bernard Savage, head of the European Commission delegation, here yesterday. "The meeting is being organized within the framework of the annual GCC-EU Joint Council," said Savage in a press statement published today. Asked about the proposal for GCC-NATO partnership to reinforce regional security, he said security cooperation will be discussed by the two sides in detail. "In fact, EU has started contacts with individual Gulf states and also GCC General Secretariat to forge security cooperation," said Savage. The six-member GCC is currently negotiating with NATO over establishing a partnership for regional security as part of a NATO initiative which offers assistance, advice and dialogue on security matters besides promoting bilateral cooperation with countries in the region. The GCC is made up of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman.
