According to Ambassador Luigi Narbone, head of the European Union Delegation for the GCC, which is based in Riyadh, some of the major initiatives to boost political, commercial and cultural links include an EU-GCC ministerial meeting next month, an EU seminar on nuclear safeguards and a major film festival that kicks off in Riyadh on May 4.
Narbone, who gave an overview of EU-GCC relations with special reference to the EU’s progressively strengthening ties with the Kingdom, spelled out his vision and the future plans of the delegation’s office on Sunday. He unveiled several initiatives that would be launched within the framework of the policies set forth by the new EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.
Narbone, who was speaking ahead of Europe Day to be observed in Saudi Arabia on May 9, said that the annual joint EU-GCC ministerial council meeting would take place in Luxembourg on June 14, marking the “launch of the second phase of our relationship."
This meeting, he said, is crucial because it will cover all issues affecting the EU and the Gulf as well as international issues. The situation in the Middle East, Iran and key international issues will also be discussed, he added.
In reply to a question, the EU delegation chief said: “There are linkages between the Kingdom and the EU on the one hand and the EU and the six-nation GCC on the other that would naturally grow … EU-GCC relations are on the right track to progress and on the level that both the Europeans and the Gulf countries want.”
Now the aim is to discuss how the EU can have a more active and effective policy on the Middle East at large, he added.
To this end, Narbone noted that two senior EU officials would visit the Kingdom during the next two months with a mission to forge closer ties. The EU, he said, will also host a seminar on nuclear safety and security in June this year.
Asked about the major fields identified by the EU to promote cooperation with the Gulf bloc, the EU Delegation chief said: “We have identified 16 new areas of cooperation.”
This would prompt the two blocs to launch action plans, said Narbone, adding that carbon storage, clean energy initiative, solar energy are related priority areas.
On the education front, he said that the EU had launched the Erasmus Mundus program, an educational exchange initiative in the field of higher education.
“The program is open for graduate students from Gulf countries including Saudi Arabia,” said the EU official, adding that the program supports courses run by a consortium of European universities. The program offers scholarships to Gulf students enrolled on an Erasmus Mundus masters course in Europe.
He said that the EU delegation would also like to announce the Chaillot Prize for 2010 for which applications will be accepted until June 15.
The prize, he said, would reward the activities or campaigns, which advocate or support human rights endeavors including awareness on local and regional level in the Gulf. The winner will receive 9,000 euros, while the first runner up would be given 3,000 euros with commendation certificates.
Asked about the film festival, Narbone said that 15 movies will be shown from May 4 to June 2 in Riyadh.
