Kuwait sets the stage for a historic EU-GCC summit in October
Charles Michel, the European Council President, will hold formal talks with Kuwaiti officials today regarding the upcoming summit in Brussels.
• Luigi Di Maio, the EU envoy, called the upcoming summit between the EU and Gulf countries a historic peak in strategic cooperation, with key topics including climate action, green transition, technology, trade, investments, and geopolitical challenges like the Middle East and Ukraine war.
Charles Michel, the European Council President, arrived in Kuwait on Tuesday evening and is set to hold formal talks today with Kuwaiti officials regarding the upcoming first EU-GCC summit, scheduled for October 16 in Brussels. Al Rai newspaper first reported this development on June 6 as part of the summit’s preparations.
Ecaterina Casinge, the official spokesperson for the President of the European Council, explained in a tweet on her personal account on the ‘X’ platform that Michel “will meet with senior officials in Kuwait and Bahrain during his visits, as part of preparations for the Brussels summit in October,” and that he will visit Bahrain following his stop in Kuwait.
At the end of last month, Michel visited both Qatar and Saudi Arabia, where he held official talks focused on the first EU-GCC summit. On the 29th of last month in Riyadh, Michel met with Jassim Al-Badiwi, the Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, to discuss preparations for the upcoming Brussels summit.
He described the joint summit in his press statements as an “important political moment.”
The European Union’s envoy to the Gulf countries, Luigi Di Maio, previously stated that it would be “the first-ever summit between our two regional organizations, attended by heads of state and government from both sides, marking the peak of strategic cooperation between the two parties.”
The key agenda items are expected to include climate action, the green transition, technological developments—especially in the digital field—trade, investments, and people-to-people relations, including visa exemptions. Additionally, many geopolitical challenges, particularly in the Middle East and the Ukraine war, will be discussed.
