A US trade official has said her country hoped the Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with Bahrain and other neighbours of Saudi Arabia will strengthen the  Gulf Co-operation Council, not break it up.

“We want the GCC to succeed. We have no interest in breaking up or breaking down the GCC,” said Catherine Novelli, assistant US trade representative for Europe and the Mediterranean. “We think the GCC is a valuable thing.”
Goods are traded between the six countries of the GCC (Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain) without tariffs, while foreign products face a uniform five-percent duty.
The official’s remarks follow comments by Saudi Arabia that it is not happy over the FTA that Bahrain signed with the US.