Awwal 17, 1432 H/Feb 20, 2011, SPA -- The first exploratory round of the Free Trade Negotiations between Gulf Cooperation Council's (GCC) member states and Malaysia took place at the headquarters of the GCC Secretariat here today. The two sides agreed to launch the first round of negotiations during 2011, after the completion of feasible economic study of the negotiations, prepared by the GCC Secretariat in this regard. Secretary General of GCC Abdulrahman bin Hamad Al-Attiyah said that the two sides showed interest in a wide-scale negotiations on commodities, services and government procurements. "They stressed to hasten the tempo of negotiations in order to accomplish the interests of both sides and to increase their trade exchange and investment", Al-Attiyah added. -- SPA
