Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
The European Union institutions published the final statement of the European-Gulf Summit, which concluded on Wednesday evening. The statement read: “We, the Heads of State and Government of the Member States of the European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council, held our first summit on 16 October 2024 in Brussels, Belgium, under the theme “Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity” to celebrate the deepening partnership between the two blocs, under the co-chairmanship of His Excellency Mr. Charles Michel, President of the European Council, and His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Emir of the State of Qatar, in his capacity as the rotating President of the Gulf Cooperation Council, in the presence of Her Excellency Mrs. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, His Excellency Mr. Jassim Al-Budaiwi, Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, and His Excellency Mr. Josep Borrell Fontelles, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
We recognize the growing political ties between the European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council and the challenges facing regional and international peace, security and stability. We are committed to our strategic partnership between the European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council and pledge to take it to the next level. We agree to build our strategic partnership, based on mutual respect and trust, for the benefit of the people of our two regions and beyond. Through this special partnership, we will work together to advance global and regional security and prosperity, including preventing the emergence and escalation of conflicts and resolving crises through enhanced dialogue, coordination and engagement. Our strategic partnership aims to be the engine for advancing our shared goals as close partners, anchored in respect for a rules-based international order that fully respects international law, including the UN Charter, international humanitarian law and the promotion and protection of universal human rights. We recognize the need to support multilateralism and the importance of sustainable development and prosperity. Our robust political dialogue on a range of key policy and sectoral priorities underscores our shared interests and level of ambition. The extensive preparatory work through our numerous joint dialogues on geopolitical developments, regional security, macroeconomics, connectivity, trade and investment, business environment, research and innovation, development cooperation and humanitarian coordination has greatly enhanced our partnership and mutual understanding, and directly supported the preparation for this Summit. We welcome the EU Joint Statement on a Strategic Partnership adopted in May 2022 and reaffirm our strong mutual commitment to further strengthening our strategic partnership in line with the Joint Action Programme 2022-2027. We welcome the outcomes of the joint Council and Ministerial meeting in October 2023 in Muscat, Oman. We will further enhance our dialogue and cooperation in the field of security, including in addressing emerging threats, by identifying and implementing common priorities and coordinated initiatives. In this spirit, the EU and the GCC will work to strengthen multilateral, regional and bilateral frameworks with a view to further strengthening bilateral and regional cooperation. We agree to continue our dialogue on a regular basis through a biennial summit and look forward to holding the next summit in Saudi Arabia in 2026. We agree to hold the 29th Joint Ministerial Meeting in Kuwait in 2025. The statement includes details related to some of the main topics that were the focus of the discussions, including:
Partnership for sustainable prosperity and security
Increasing trade, investment and economic cooperation
Enhancing cooperation in the field of energy and combating climate change
Enhancing connectivity between our regions
Intensifying participation in development and humanitarian assistance
Strengthening joint efforts to address major global issues
Building bridges between peoples
Partnership for stability and lasting peace, especially with regard to the following files: Ukraine. Israel, Gaza and the West Bank, Lebanon. Iran. The Red Sea, Yemen. Iraq. Syria. Sudan, Somalia
In his address to the summit, the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, said: “This summit opens a new – and I hope more ambitious – chapter in our cooperation. I hope that this summit will help us reach a greater understanding in dealing with the many common challenges we face, and that this summit will be the first of many meetings that will take place between our two regions at the level of leaders. With this summit, we are sending a strong message to our citizens and the world: the European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council are ready to build a strategic partnership fit for the 21st century. We are ready to work together to address global challenges. We want more stability, more security, more prosperity and more respect for international law.
“We welcome you from the bottom of our hearts to Brussels. Your presence here today and our first meeting in this format is very historic. We are opening new horizons by seeing each other as strategic partners. Being strategic partners means listening to each other, respecting each other and trusting each other,” said Ursula von der Leyen, President of the Commission. It also means empowering each other, relying on each other and joining forces to shape a shared future. We want a positive, broad-based and fruitful partnership. Our regions are complex. Only through dialogue and engagement can we achieve this. As you rightly said, Your Highness, the security and prosperity of the EU and the GCC have become indispensable to each other. “We cannot achieve our economic ambitions without security,” she noted. “Only diplomacy can find a sustainable path to security. The EU is committed to building peace, based on a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine.”