Qatar dispute puts UK-Gulf trade talks on hold

Qatar dispute puts UK-Gulf trade talks on hold

Plans for a prestigious UK-Gulf Co-operation Council meeting in London this year have been put on hold, threatening UK plans for a quick free-trade deal with some of the richest economies in the world after Brexit.

Theresa May promised last year to host the first meeting of the GCC nations outside the Gulf in December as part of a symbolic show of the UK’s strengthening trade and security ties with the regional bloc.

But Gulf nation sources said the two-month dispute between Qatar and three other Gulf states has put planning for the summit on hold. There have been suggestions that if the dispute worsens Qatar will be suspended from the GCC, or that the organisation itself will fold.
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