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Lord Edward Lister, a former Downing St chief of staff, has revealed that the UK has started formal steps for a free-trade agreement with the Arab Gulf countries.
Mr Lister, co-chair of the UAE-UK Business Council, told an online forum on Wednesday that unprecedented developments in forging trade links were coming.
"There is a lot of work under way at the moment – consultation is shortly about to start on it – on new trade arrangements into the Gulf, which will be a free-trade agreement," he said. "That's a major piece of government work."
Ahmed Al Sayegh, Minister of State and the other co-chair of the Business Council, told the forum that as the UAE reaches its 50th anniversary, the two countries' "friendship was going through a revival at the moment".