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QNA
Manama
The GCC-UK first summit concluded on Wednesday with the leaders agreeing to launch the GCC-UK Strategic Partnership to foster closer relations in all fields, including political, defence, security and trade.
A joint communiqu` said the UK remains committed to working with the GCC states to deter external aggression and interference.
The leaders pledged to continue working towards a sustainable political resolution in Syria. The leaders reaffirmed that Assad has lost all legitimacy and has no role in Syria's future.
UK Prime Minister Theresa May said Britain would help"push back" against Iranian aggression.
"We must also continue to confront state actors who fuel instability in the region. So I want to assure you that I am clear-eyed about the threat that Iran poses to the Gulf and the wider Middle East. We will establish a new Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism and Border Security and a new National Security Dialogue at GCC level to protect critical national infrastructure, facilitate faster intelligence sharing on suspected foreign terrorist fighters and implement traveller screening systems to detect terrorists attempting to pass through any GCC airport," May said.
May said the UK will spend over 3 billion British pound on defence in the Gulf region over the next decade.
