U.K.-GCC deal to start by hearing public opinion

The U.K. will ask British businesses what they want the agreement to cover on Friday, the country’s first step toward trade negotiations with the six-country Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

Trade Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan is aiming for a deal with the GCC as she seeks to establish new ties around the world after Britain’s exit from the European Union (EU). Members of the GCC include Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain.

Trevelyan will launch a 14-week consultation on Friday, calling on the public and businesses to share their views on what a deal should look like. She is also set to meet with GCC representatives in London.

A deal between the UK and the GCC would advance the relations that the former had as an EU member considering that the 18-year negotiations between the EU and the GCC had stalled in 2008.

Britain already enjoys close strategic and military ties with the Gulf countries, and trade with the region was valued to be over 30 billion pounds in 2020.

However, going after a formal trade deal could rekindle political concerns over who post-Brexit Britain is doing business with. The U.K. government has already been under fire from opposition lawmakers and campaigners alleging that billions of pounds of arms exports to Saudi Arabia are being used in activities violating human rights in Yemen.